In Nepal’s worst air crash in nearly five years, at least 69 people were killed after a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard crashed into a river gorge on Sunday while landing at the Pokhara airport.
Yeti Airlines’ 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). While landing at the Pokhara airport, the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.
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There were a total of 68 passengers including 10 foreigners and four crew members, Republica newspaper reported. Five Indians were among the total 15 foreign nationals onboard the plane, the paper reported. Other foreign nationals included – four Russians, two Koreans, and an Australian, an Irish, an Argentinian and a French.
The flight crashed 10 to 20 seconds before landing and there was no distress call from the cockpit before the disaster, airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said, as per Bloomberg.
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Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said weather was not a problem, preliminary information has been received that the plane crashed due to technical reasons.
“Weather was not a problem, preliminary information has been received that the plane crashed due to technical reasons. Information has been received that flames were seen in the plane while it was still air-borne,” Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
“The plane would have reached the runway in 10 seconds. However, it met with an accident mid-way,” the airport’s air traffic controller told MyRepublica newspaper.
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What aircraft was it?
The Yeti Airlines’ plane involved in the crash was a twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft and was 15 years old equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data, as per multiple reports. Manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, the ATR 72 is a widely used twin-engine turboprop plane. There are six such planes in Yeti Airlines’ fleet.
The Yeti Airlines flight 9N-ANC ATR-72 was on its third sortie since Sunday morning. It first flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara and back to Kathmandu earlier in the day, Hindustan Times reported.
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How did the plane crash?
The plane took off from Kathmandu at 10:33 am. While landing at the Pokhara airport around 11 am, the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.
Following the Yeti Airlines aircraft crash, the Pokhara International Airport has been closed for today for all incoming and outgoing flights.
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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ held an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers and instructed security personnel and all government agencies to carry out effective rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Nepal government has formed a five-member commission of inquiry to probe the Yeti Airlines plane crash.
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