It is considered the worst air crash in Nepal in 30 years. A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 carrying 68 passengers and 4 crew members crashed at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal. The flight, YT961 was a scheduled domestic flight from Kathmandu. Sixty-eight people were killed as a result of the crash.
The Aviation Safety Network database stated that the disaster was the deadliest in Nepal since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board.
The airport was contacted by the plane as it was flying above Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. (05:05 GMT), according to a statement released by the aviation authority. “Then it went down.” The ATR 72 went down in Pokhara’s Seti River about 1.2nm before the runway threshold, on the bank between the old and new airports.
Ajay K.C., a police official, said that rescuers were having trouble getting to the site because it was in a gorge between two hills near the airport.
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said, “I am deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident of Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72 which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with passengers. I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue.”
Witnesses speak
Arun Tamu, a local resident, said to Reuters, “Half of the plane is on the hillside, the other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river.” Another witness, Khum Bahadur Chhetri, said he watched from the roof of his house as the flight approached.
“I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly its nose dived and it went into the gorge,” Chhetri told Reuters.
A committee appointed by the Nepalese government to determine what caused the disaster is expected to submit its findings within 45 days.
The plane involved in the incident
The Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 bearing registry 9N-ANC, was delivered to the airline in April 2019. Kingfisher Airlines, Investec, and Nok Air all operated the 15-year-old plane before Yeti Airlines acquired it.
FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking website, tweeted that the 15-year-old Yeti Airlines plane had an antiquated transponder that provided inaccurate readings. At 5:12 UTC, the transponder’s final signal was received, indicating that it was 2,875 feet above mean sea level.
FlightRadar24 estimates that Pokhara Airport is roughly 2,700 feet above mean sea level.
Yeti Airlines operate a fleet of six ATR 72-500 planes.
This is a developing story.
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