Nepal plane crash update: Search teams retrieved flight data and cockpit voice recorder of a passenger plane on Monday fell into the ditch A new airport in the Himalayan foothills is on approach, officials said, as investigators seek the cause of Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years.
At least 70 of the 72 people aboard were killed, and officials believe the two missing people have also died. Rescuers searched through the wreckage and scattered it over a 300-metre-deep (984 ft) ditch.
Many of the passengers on Sunday’s flight were returning home to Pokhara, although the city is also popular with tourists as a gateway to the Annapurna Circuit hiking trail. On Monday evening, relatives and friends were still gathered outside a local hospital, some shouting for authorities to expedite the post-mortem so that they could perform the last rites for their loved ones.
The cause of the accident is still unknown
It is still unclear what caused the crash, which happened less than a minute into the flight from the airport in light wind.
Footage taken by a passenger looking out the window as the plane came in for landing showed buildings, roads and greenery below. The video, shot by Sonu Jaiswal and verified by The Associated Press, then shows a series of jerky images accompanied by a violent blow and shout before the screen bursts into flames.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the plane last approached the airport, which started operations only two weeks ago, from near the Seti Gorge.
“I thought after I crashed today it would be over here”
An eyewitness who recorded footage of the plane landing said it appeared to be a normal landing until the plane made a sudden left turn.
“I saw that, and I was shocked,” said Divas Bohora. “I thought after it crashed today everything here would be over, I would die too.”
Bohora said that after it crashed, red flames shot up and the ground shook violently. “I was horrified to see that scene,” he said.
Amit Singh, a veteran pilot and founder of India’s Safety Matters Foundation, said Bohora’s video shows a stall, a condition in which an aircraft loses lift, especially at low airspeed.
The ATR-72 aircraft belongs to Yeti Airlines of Nepal.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was completing a 27-minute flight to Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement that there were 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members. The foreigners include five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Authority spokesman Jagannath Niroula said the flight recorders would be handed over to investigators. Yeti Airlines spokesman Pemba Sherpa confirmed that both the flight data and the cockpit voice recorder had been found.
What do Indian pilots say about Nepal’s geographical location?
Nepal is home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest. A pilot who regularly flies an ATR 72-500 aircraft from India to Nepal said the region’s topography, with its mountain peaks and narrow valleys, increases the risk of accidents and sometimes forces pilots to rely on instruments. requires flying by sight instead.
The pilot, who works for a private Indian airline and insisted on anonymity due to company policy, can fly an ATR 72-500 if the pilot is not highly skilled and is not familiar with the area’s terrain and wind speed. is called the “unforgivable plane”.
Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital, where the bodies are being kept.
Bimala Bhinderi said she was planning to meet her friend Tribhuvan Paudel on Tuesday when she heard that his flight had crashed. “I’m so sad, I still can’t believe it,” she said in tears.
Bikash Jaiswal said that he could only identify his wife’s brother by the ring he was wearing, and that he had not yet told his wife, who had recently given birth to their daughter. Sanjay Jaiswal, who worked as a marketing agent for a private pharmaceutical company in Kathmandu, was on his way to Pokhara for the birth. More than 24 hours after the accident, his body lay in the same hospital where his niece was born.
(with inputs from AP)
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