LAMATAR (LALITPUR), SEP 26 - A Beechcraft 9N AEK B-1900D of Buddha Air crashed at Kotdanda, Lamatar, in Lalitpur district on Sunday morning, killing all 19, including three crew members, on board. It was Buddha Air’s first crash with casualties since it started its operations in 1997.
As this newspaper went to press, it was not clear what had led to the crash. Experts blamed adverse weather conditions for it, which added to another fatal monsoon toll.
Ten Indians, two US nationals, a Japanese and six Nepalis died in the ill-fated mountain flight, Buddha Air confirmed. JB Tamrakar was the pilot-in-command with co-pilot Ms Padma Adhikari and air hostess Asmita Shrestha. They were 2.5 minutes away from Runway 02 when the crash took place.
Niranjan Karmacharya, 36, was rescued alive from the crash site, but he died on the way to B&B Hospital in Gwarko. He had lost both of his legs.
The crash site is located at 5,400 ft with two houses nearby. The flight had departed from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 6: 49 am, but lost contact with the control room at 7: 31 am when the aircraft was returning to the airport. The aircraft was scheduled to land at 7:34 am. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airport reported the crash at 7:50 am.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials at the TIA said they saw the 19-seater aircraft make the approach from five miles east and instructed it to make the landing from the customary southern end of the runway. “The crash happened when the aircraft was turning south for landing at Runway 02,” said Bimlesh Lal Karna, the chief of the ATC. “However, we have not yet been able to ascertain the precise reason behind the crash,” he said.
The aircraft requires to maintain an elevation of 6,500 ft. However, it was found to be flying below the visual flight rules (VFRs), a set of regulations which allows the pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions that offer sound visibility.
Aviation experts and locals said the crash may have occurred due to dense fog and that the pilot-in-command might have been looking for a safe area under the VFR when the crash occurred. Evidences at the crash site seemed the aircraft was trying to make a slight curve towards the south.
At 5,200 ft, the aircraft’s right wing first hit two trees and a toilet of a local resident. The impact blew the wing right away, said witensses. The aircraft then ascended to 5,400 ft and exploded twice. Hari Thapa, 50, whose house was just 20 ft away from the first impact, said he heard all the three impacts.
“I heard a loud noise when the plane cut down two trees and the toilet near my house and two more sounds after a few seconds,” Thapa said. However, fearing an earthquake, Thapa did not come out of his house until other locals had gathered at the crash site.
Rachan Lama, another local who reached the spot after 20 minutes of the crash, said there was dense fog when he reached the site.
As this newspaper went to press, it was not clear what had led to the crash. Experts blamed adverse weather conditions for it, which added to another fatal monsoon toll.
Ten Indians, two US nationals, a Japanese and six Nepalis died in the ill-fated mountain flight, Buddha Air confirmed. JB Tamrakar was the pilot-in-command with co-pilot Ms Padma Adhikari and air hostess Asmita Shrestha. They were 2.5 minutes away from Runway 02 when the crash took place.
Niranjan Karmacharya, 36, was rescued alive from the crash site, but he died on the way to B&B Hospital in Gwarko. He had lost both of his legs.
The crash site is located at 5,400 ft with two houses nearby. The flight had departed from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 6: 49 am, but lost contact with the control room at 7: 31 am when the aircraft was returning to the airport. The aircraft was scheduled to land at 7:34 am. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airport reported the crash at 7:50 am.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials at the TIA said they saw the 19-seater aircraft make the approach from five miles east and instructed it to make the landing from the customary southern end of the runway. “The crash happened when the aircraft was turning south for landing at Runway 02,” said Bimlesh Lal Karna, the chief of the ATC. “However, we have not yet been able to ascertain the precise reason behind the crash,” he said.
The aircraft requires to maintain an elevation of 6,500 ft. However, it was found to be flying below the visual flight rules (VFRs), a set of regulations which allows the pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions that offer sound visibility.
Aviation experts and locals said the crash may have occurred due to dense fog and that the pilot-in-command might have been looking for a safe area under the VFR when the crash occurred. Evidences at the crash site seemed the aircraft was trying to make a slight curve towards the south.
At 5,200 ft, the aircraft’s right wing first hit two trees and a toilet of a local resident. The impact blew the wing right away, said witensses. The aircraft then ascended to 5,400 ft and exploded twice. Hari Thapa, 50, whose house was just 20 ft away from the first impact, said he heard all the three impacts.
“I heard a loud noise when the plane cut down two trees and the toilet near my house and two more sounds after a few seconds,” Thapa said. However, fearing an earthquake, Thapa did not come out of his house until other locals had gathered at the crash site.
Rachan Lama, another local who reached the spot after 20 minutes of the crash, said there was dense fog when he reached the site.
