Eurocopter breaks record with Everest summit landing

The European company Eurocopter has broken a world record by landing a helicopter on the summit of Mount Everest, the company said.

A test pilot guided the Ecureuil helicopter to land at 8,850 metres on the morning of May 14 and took off again three minutes later. The feat was repeated the next day, the company — a subsidiary of the EADS aeronautic group — said.

The previous world record was established in November by an Indian team that landed at 7,670 metres in the Himalayas. That was accomplished with a Lama helicopter, made under a Eurocopter licence, equipped with a special engine.

The Everest landing was completed with a standard production-line model. “We wanted to show the capacity of our aircraft to fly at altitude,” said Eurocopter spokesman Jean-Louis Espres. afp

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