On Sunday, at least 66 people died in Pokhara, Nepal, after a Yeti Airlines plane carrying four crew members and 68 passengers from Kathmandu crashed before completing its 27-minute flight.
Government authorities previously placed the death toll at 68 on Sunday but revised it this morning after a recount.
Nepal civil aviation authority says 68 dead bodies recovered from the crash site. pic.twitter.com/akAQmWgR84
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 15, 2023
OVERVIEW
Reports suggest that the Pokhara airport authorities lost contact with the plane at 10:50 a.m., around 18 minutes after takeoff, and crashed near the Seti River Gorge.
The airline’s spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said that of the deceased passengers, 37 were men, 25 were women, three were children, and the remaining three were infants. Meanwhile, 15 passengers were foreigners, including five Indians, four Russians, and two Koreans. The rest were from Australia, Argentina, France, and Ireland.
Surreal... Final Moments of the Nepal airplane crash captured by a Livestream - pic.twitter.com/w6AZGune8j
— Florian Witulski (@vaitor) January 16, 2023
Authorities called off the rescue operations on late Sunday after hours of search conducted by Nepal’s Army and police forces. Efforts to locate the remaining passengers resumed on Monday morning.
An Army spokesperson reassured that the security personnel “expect to recover more bodies” in the operations.
CAUSE OF CRASH UNKNOWN
A five-member committee will now investigate the cause of the crash and submit their assessment to the government within 45 days.
An aviation expert speaking to Nepali Times said it was “too early” to confirm the cause, adding that the plane “appears to be in a nose-up altitude prior to a stall, possibly trying to perform a go-around.”
Accordingly, the authorities must confirm whether a bird collision or a technical issue caused the accident. In fact, Pokhara airport’s inauguration was delayed earlier over bird strike concerns to landing flights, as the runway is close to the Seti River.
Moments before the unfortunate Nepal crash earlier today.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 15, 2023
Source: Nepal media https://t.co/6QrOy9nhCz pic.twitter.com/257qAnKhyw
REACTIONS
Nepalese PM Pushpa Kumar Dahal responded to the incident reports, condemned the “sad and tragic accident”, and called for a government and civilian-initiated “effective rescue.” The government further announced a public day of mourning for the victims.
Indian PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed their condolences to the victims’ families. Russia’s ambassador in Kathmandu, Alexei Novikov, additionally confirmed the death of four Russian passengers.
Yeti Airlines cancelled all its flights on Monday to mourn the victims’ deaths.
Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. @cmprachanda @PM_nepal_
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2023
HISTORY OF PLANE CRASHES
Reports suggest that Sunday’s crash was the third such deadly incident in Nepal’s history. In July 1992, 113 died in a Thai Air crash. Meanwhile, a similar accident caused 167 deaths in September 1992.
However, being home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, Nepal has had frequent deadly crashes, leading to 309 deaths since 2000. A 2019 Civilian Aviation Authority report confirmed that the pilots faced a “huge challenge” due to the “hostile topography.” Flights with 19 seats or fewer are more prone to crashes caused by bad weather and unfavourable landscapes.
For instance, in May 2022, Tara Air’s flight crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas. All 22 onboard died in the incident. In 2018, a US-Bangla aircraft also caught fire in Kathmandu, killing 51.
🚨 20 years
— Ananya Bhattacharya (@ananya116) January 16, 2023
🚨 15 deadly air crashes
🚨 315 people killed#Nepal has the world’s worst aviation history, and the #YetiAirlines crash only adds to its horrible flight record. https://t.co/ZpB2t6VqdU
Concerningly, the Tara Air incident was the 19th crash in 10 years. It was also the 10th fatal plane crash in the same period.
Resultingly, the EU has barred Nepalese airlines from its airspace since 2013. Despite reassurances by the International Civilian Aviation Organisation regarding improving safety standards, the bloc has upheld the ban.
Sunday’s incident involved an ATR 72-500 low-cost carrier, which is jointly made by European companies Airbus and Leonardo. While the two aircraft companies have a good reputation in the market, their ATR flights have been involved in 11 other such crashes.
In July 2014 and February 2015, Taiwanese company Transasia’s flights crashed, causing authorities to mandate their grounding.