The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal reported that a domestic flight crashed in Pokhara on Sunday, killing at least 68 people—the nation’s worst aviation accident in three decades.
The hillside where the Yeti Airlines flight, which was carrying 72 people from Kathmandu, was found by hundreds of rescue workers was being searched.
On local television, rescue workers were seen scurrying around the aircraft’s broken sections. There were licks of flames visible on some scorched ground near the crash site.
According to Ajay K.C., a police official, rescue workers were having trouble reaching the location in a gorge between two hills near the airport of the tourist town.
According to the Aviation Safety Network database, the incident is Nepal’s deadliest since a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside on its way to Kathmandu in 1992, killing all 167 passengers.
The aircraft made contact with the airport at 10:50 a.m. (05:05 GMT), according to a statement from the aviation authority. Then it went down.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority’s statement, there were three infants and three children aboard the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft.
Five Indians, four Russians, one Irishman, two South Koreans, one Australian, one Frenchman, and one Argentinean were among the passengers.
प्रेस विज्ञप्ति -२#YetiAirlines #9NANC pic.twitter.com/XmnO2pMzet
— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) January 15, 2023
“Half of the plane is on the hillside,” a local resident named Arun Tamu told Reuters shortly after the plane went down. The remaining half has fallen into the Seti river gorge.
According to Khum Bahadur Chhetri, he observed the flight approaching from the roof of his house.
According to Chhetri’s statement to Reuters, “I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly it nose-dived and it went into the gorge.” He also stated that two passengers were transported to a hospital by locals.
Anup Joshi, a spokesperson for Pokhara Airport, stated that the aircraft “cruised at 12,500 feet and was on a normal descent” when it crashed as it approached the airport. Sunday’s weather was clear.
Bishnu Paudel, the finance minister, informed reporters that the government has established a panel to investigate the cause of the accident and that the panel is anticipated to report within 45 days.
Following the plane crash, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency cabinet meeting.
One of Nepal’s most popular tourist routes is the flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city, which is located beneath the picturesque Annapurna mountain range. Many prefer to fly instead of driving six hours through hilly roads.
‘15 years old’ aircraft
On Twitter, FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, stated that the Yeti Airlines aircraft was 15 years old and had an outdated transponder with questionable data.
In addition, the transponder’s final signal was received at 05:12 GMT at 2,875 feet above mean sea level. FlightRadar24 says that Pokhara Airport is between 2,700 and 2,800 feet above mean sea level.
The aircraft involved is a 15 year old ATR 72-500 with registration number 9N-ANC and serial number 754.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 15, 2023
This aircraft was equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. We are downloading high resolution data and verifying the data quality. pic.twitter.com/nnrpnnNnqj
The ATR72 is a twin-engine turboprop plane that is used a lot and is made by a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo in Italy. According to its website, Yeti Airlines operates six ATR72-500 aircraft in its fleet.
The company stated on Twitter that “ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer,” adding that its initial thoughts were for the affected individuals after learning of the accident.
Both Leonardo and Airbus did not immediately respond to inquiries for clarification.
Series of crashes
Since 2000, at least 309 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal, which is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, where the weather can change quickly and make things dangerous.
Since 2013, the European Union has restricted Nepali airlines’ access to its airspace due to safety concerns.
Yeti advertises itself as a leading domestic carrier on its website. Six ATR 72-500s make up its fleet, including the one that went down. According to the company, it also owns Tara Air, and the two together provide Nepal with the “widest network.”
Source: Reuters