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Agence France-Presse

Nepali rescuers called off their hunt for a missing passenger plane with 22 people on board late Sunday, planning to resume search operations at first light.
The Tara Air plane had taken off from the western town of Pokhara, 200 kilometres east of Kathmandu, on Sunday morning but lost control with air traffic after 15 minutes, the airline said.
Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers, but it has a poor safety record.
The plane was on a short scheduled flight to the mountain town of Jomsom.

Rescuers unsuccessfully scoured a remote mountainous area in western Nepal by helicopter and on foot all day Sunday, as weather hampered search flights.
Nepal Army official Baburam Shrestha said ground troops would stay at a local school for the night and be joined by additional forces in the morning.
“We will also resume the search operation from our helicopter tomorrow morning once the weather is clear,” he said.
Dev Raj Subedi, a spokesman for Pokhara Airport, said three helicopters had had to turn back.

“Right now we cannot say where exactly where the aircraft is and in what condition,” he said. “There has not been any reporting or information from locals about a big fire or any other such indications.”
Earlier, police official Ramesh Thapa said there were 19 passengers and three crew members on board the Twin Otter aircraft.
A police official who was not authorised to speak to the media said there were six foreigners on board the plane – four Indians and two Germans – with the remainder being Nepali.
Relatives of those on board gathered outside Pokhara airport, consoling each other as they wept and waited for news.

It had been raining in the area for the past few days but flights were operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley.
Phanindra Mani Pokharel, a spokesman at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said two helicopters were deployed for a search operation, but he said visibility was low.
“The bad weather is likely to hamper the search operation. The visibility is so poor that nothing can be seen,” Pokharel said.
The Twin Otter aircraft’s last known location was in an area around Ghorepani, a village 2,874 metres (9,429 feet) above sea level, according to the aviation authority.
Jomsom is a trekking destination in the Himalayas about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara, which lies west of Kathmandu.
Three dead after Nepal plan crash at Everest ‘gateway’ airport
It is a popular route with foreign hikers who walk the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from its airspace over safety concerns.
No survivors in Nepal plane crash after police find wreckage
The country also has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots.
Tara Air is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, a privately owned domestic carrier which services many remote destinations across Nepal.
It suffered its last fatal accident in 2016 on the same route when a plane with 23 on board crashed into a mountainside in Myagdi district.
In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu’s international airport, killing 51 people. The following year three people died when a plane veered off the runway and hit two helicopters while taking off near Mount Everest.
The accident happened at Lukla airport which is the main gateway to the Everest region and is reputed to be one of the most difficult in the world for landings and take-offs.
Disoriented pilot, bad runway approach led to plane crash in Nepal
Also in 2019, Nepal’s tourism minister Rabindra Adhikari was among seven people killed when a helicopter crashed in the country’s hilly east.
This month Nepal’s second international airport opened at Bhairahawa, aiming to give Buddhist pilgrims from across Asia access to the Buddha’s birthplace at nearby Lumbini.
The US$76 million project will ease pressure on the overburdened Kathmandu international airport.
Additional reporting Associated Press


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Nepal

Search paused for Nepal plane missing in mountains with 22 on board

Relatives of passengers on board a missing aircraft in Nepal wait for news. Photo: AFP

A team of climbers prepare for rescue operations in Nepal on Sunday after a small plane with 22 people on board went missing in the mountains. Photo: AP

Relatives of passengers on board the missing aircraft, outside the airport in Pokhara. Photo: AFP

A Tara Air’s Twin Otter plane. File photo: Handout

'Harder than Everest': record-breaking female climber from Hong Kong stranded in Nepal during Covid-19

Hongkonger Ada Tsang Yin-hung broke a record for climbing Mount Everest, but she's been unable to get back to the city ever since. Photo: Handout

Three dead in Nepal as plane crashes into helicopter mid-take off at treacherous Everest ‘gateway’ airport

Aircraft collision at Lukla airport in Solukhumbu, Nepal. Photo: Xinhua

Medical staff take plane crash victim Syangboche Karki to Grande International Hospital, in Kathmandu on April 14, 2019. - A small plane veered off the runway and hit two helicopters while taking off near Mount Everest on April 14, killing three people and injuring three, officials said. The accident happened at Lukla airport which is the main gateway to the Everest region and is reputed to be one of the most difficult in the world for landings and take-offs. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

The site of an airplane crash is pictured in Lukla, Nepal April 14, 2019. Ang Tashi Sherpa/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Chinese, British among 19 dead as Nepal plane crashes on take-off

A rescue team inspect the crash site of Dornier Aircraft of Sital Air that went down on the bank of the Manohara River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday. Photo: EPA

A rescue team removes victim's bodies from the crash site of a Dornier Aircraft from Sital Air on Friday. Photo: EPA

Sixteen passengers and three crew members died when the plane crashed during take off from Kathmandu heading for Lukla, a gateway to Mount Everest. Photo: EPA

British, Chinese among 19 dead as Nepal plane crashes on takeoff

News

Asia

South Asia


The Twin Otter aircraft with 19 passengers and three crew took off from Pokhara on Sunday morning but soon lost contact with air traffic control
The impoverished Himalayan nation has a poor air safety record due to insufficient training and maintenance



The Twin Otter aircraft with 19 passengers and three crew members took off from the town of Pokhara on Sunday morning but soon lost contact with air traffic control.


Aviation

Plane crashes and aviation accidents