Nepal plane crash: pilot tried to change landing lanes before accident

The pilot of the Yeti Airlines jet that crashed on Sunday, killing all 72 on board, had wanted to land on a different runway than initially assigned, a Nepalese aviation official told dpa on Monday.

But Jagannath Niraula, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said no distress calls were reported from the pilot.

“We haven’t received any reports of distress calls before the crash,” Niraula told dpa. Everything seemed normal until the plane was given permission to land at the newly built Pokhara International Airport, he said.

The crash orphaned the 22-year-old daughter of co-pilot Anju Khatiwada, according to a report by the myRepública news website. Khatiwada’s first husband – also a pilot – had died in a similar crash in 2006, Yeti Airlines told dpa.

As of Monday, Khatiwada had not officially been identified among the victims of the crash.

Investigators are still analysing the black box, which was found on Monday. So far 69 bodies from the 72 on board have been recovered. No survivors are expected.

The crash is one of the worst in the history of Nepal, a country with a poor aviation safety record.

“Our teams are still searching for the remaining three people on board the plane,” a senior administrator in the Kaski district said. “It’s taking longer than expected because the wreckage of the plane is scattered in a gorge,” he said.

The aircraft was in contact with the local air traffic control room until 10:50am (05:05 GMT) on Sunday, according to the CAAN.

Hundreds of emergency personnel as well as members of the army were mobilised in the search and rescue effort.

There were 53 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France on board the flight, CAAN said.

Meanwhile a video circulating on social media was reportedly made by one of the passengers. It was apparently streamed on Facebook and shows the last 90 seconds before the crash.

It initially shows several people laughing on the plane and a view out of the window. The landing approach seems calm, then suddenly fire breaks out.

According to dpa’s fact-checking team, the flight path, as seen from the plane’s window, matches the information provided by authorities.

A man whose name was on an official list of passenger contacts, when reached by dpa, confirmed that a man in the video was his friend and was wearing the same clothes as before the flight.

Data recorder to be sent to France

Nepalese authorities said they have began returning to families the bodies of victims, and were sending the aircraft’s data recorder to France for analysis as they try to determine what caused the accident.

Aviation experts say it appears that the turboprop went into a stall at low altitude on approach to the airport, but it is not clear why.

Funerals for victims, many of whom were from the area, are expected to be carried out in Pokhara and nearby districts.

Additional reporting by Associated Press