Mishandling, aircraft system malfunction or pilot fatigue may have been the cause of Sunday’s deadly plane crash in Nepal that killed at least 68 people, according to pilots and an air crash investigation expert. He also said that the exact cause of the accident would be known only after a detailed investigation. Nepal, which has witnessed several plane crashes in recent years, on Sunday witnessed the crash of an ATR-72 aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines on its way from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
Video clips on social media purportedly show the trajectory of the plane seconds before it crashed, it was a clear sky and the weather was not bad. A plane crash investigator told PTI that according to a video clip, the plane’s nose pitched up and its wings tilted to the left before the crash, and there could have been a stall.
He said on condition of anonymity that the exact cause of the crash would be known only after a detailed investigation is completed, initially it appears that the pilot mishandled or there was a fault in the aircraft’s angle of attack system.
The man, who was involved in several plane crash investigations, was also closely associated with the Calicut plane crash investigation in 2020. A senior pilot of a major Indian carrier, who did not wish to be quoted, said following procedures are paramount when flying to areas like that in Nepal.
The pilot, who also flies to Nepal, said several factors, including pilot fatigue, could have led to the crash. While flying a plane, decisions have to be made at every step and a pilot needs to be well rested. Hence, there could be pilot fatigue and there could be a possibility of non-adherence to procedures, the pilot said.
A pilot with a regional carrier, who has been flying ATR planes for nearly two decades, said the particular plane may have suffered a stall or there could have been pilot error. The pilot said that the cause of the accident would be known only after the completion of the investigation.
The aircraft involved in the flight is a 15-year-old ATR 72-500 with registration number 9N-ANC and serial number 754. The aircraft was equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. We are downloading high resolution data and verifying the quality of the data. tracking website Flightradar24 said in a tweet.
At least 68 people were killed when a Nepali passenger plane with 72 people on board, including five Indians, crashed during landing at the newly-opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara in central Nepal on Sunday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said there were 72 people on board the plane, including four crew members.