ULAN BATOR, March 14 (Reuters) - Human error was the main cause of a helicopter crash in western Mongolia two months ago which killed nine people, among them a United Nations team and a Japanese television crew, investigators said on Wednesday.
"The main factor of the crash was human error," chief investigator M. Byambasuren told reporters. "There were no technical reasons affecting the crash."
The Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) helicopter was overloaded by nearly 900 kg when it crashed on January 14 as its pilots tried to land on a steep snowy slope in a mountainous area, he said.
The pilots became disoriented after the helicopter stirred up a cloud of snow, he added.
The helicopter, with 23 people on board, crashed only a few metres (yards) away from a nomad encampment and immediately caught fire after its propellers hit the ground.
Three of the crew escaped unharmed, and pulled out eleven passengers via a rear exit.
Nine people died in the fire including four U.N. workers from Britain, the United States, Germany and Mongolia, two reporters from the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, a Mongolian parliament member, a photo-journalist and a crew member.
The team was assessing the extent of Mongolia's winter disaster, which has killed over one million livestock and hit more than 300,000 herders.