Another plane down in Nepal
 

Nepalnews.com - News from Nepal as it happens

2012-09-28 10:30

by Deepak Adhikari

KATHMANDU, Sept 28, 2012 (AFP) - A twin-otter carrying 19 people, mainly foreigners, towards an airport in the shadow of Mount Everest crashed Friday on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital, police said, killing everyone on board.
The Sita Air craft had just taken off from Kathmandu airport and was headed to the small town of Lukla, a gateway to Everest, when it plunged towards a river on the outskirts of the city.
"All 19 passengers of the Sita Air plane have died. The accident site is less than one kilometre (half a mile) from the airport," said Nepal Police spokesman Binod Singh.
"The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire."
Singh said the plane, carrying mainly foreigners and three local crew, plunged into the banks of the Manohara river early in he morning.
"There are four Nepalis among the dead, apart from the crew. The majority of the dead are foreigners from Western countries," he said.
Dozens of army personnel had arrived at the crash site, said Nepalese army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri, and were battling to bring the blaze under control.
"I was just walking and saw a plane landing. It was caught in fire and I even heard people inside the plane screaming," a witness told Kantipur Television.
Another witness said he saw half burned bodies near the crash site, a slum settlement.
Nepal has a poor road network and large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on the country's 16 domestic airlines and 49 airports to reach remote areas.
The latest fatal crash in Nepal -- the sixth in less than two years -- could potentially lead to new scrutiny of the country's numerous small airlines, which provide vital links to remote parts of the country.
Aircraft and pilots often have to contend with bad weather and difficult landing strips in the Himalayan nation.

Nepal crash
 

Other reports say the Sita aeroplane was a Dornier. Sita Air is listed as operating four of the type.

BBC News - Plane crashes in Nepal capital

Very sad news indeed. My thoughts to all family and friends of those lost.

I was somewhat shocked to see members of the military moving wreckage about so early after the crash??.........unless of course crash investigators have already authorised it, but that seems unlikely at this early stage.

BBC 7am news is mentioning the possibility of a birdstrike.

From what I saw the tail looked like DO-228, heard it take off, then a loud thump, couldnt see anything from my position though

Does look like a Do228. Flew with Sita this time last year.... Seemed to be a great operation. Could this suspected bird strike have caused the engine to fail then an uncontained engine fire leading to the crash?

Would a 228's happily continue a climb following an engine out and achieve desired performance from KTM (approx 4500amsl)?

Will climb ok as long as the propellor NTS system works as advertised, maybe a startle factor and they got slow, and yes it was a Dornier.

BBC Radio Lancashire news speculating (based on local comments) that they hit a vulture
They say 16 passengers, seven British

They also said it was a Dornier, and said Sita used the 228

Looking at the photo's the aircraft seems to have come down flat with very little forward motion.
Stalled and fell?

In those pictures the tail section was at first upright, then you saw a soldier climbing to the top, then it was on its side, very strange.

Some more photograghs here.

19 confirmed dead including 5 Chinese in plane crash in Nepal - Xinhua | English.news.cn

No 5 is particularly sad; it looks as if they have lost a relative.

Blimey, fair dos to Dean, you can hardly accuse him of lurking!

I've seen film footage of the soldier actually shoving part of the tail assembly over. I'm not sure the forensics of air accident investigations are the topic of everyday conversation in the Nepali equivalent of the Dog and Duck, so 'contamination' of the scene isn't too surprising.

Or maybe there were enough witnesses who saw what happened (EG birdstrike) for people to assume an investigation wouldn't be needed.

....front engine...
...told him to start a second engine...
....Officials said the impact shocked the pilot who became “nervous.”...

:ugh:

They must have fired all the sub-editors at the Torygraph.....:suspect:

Bird strike is entirely plausible. I once was in Nepal for 2 months and if you look up at any one time you almost always see one of more birds of prey. It’s on many bird migratory routes so rich in bird life. Dean you can quote that if you want.

Spectacular views from planes E.g. many air routes are east west to the south of the Himalayas and international flights into Kathmandu can pass Everest at the same height. I have a photo of it from aircraft window, albeit at a distance.

The BBC are talking their usual crap. "Why did the crash happen at the safest part of the flight?"

You need to go back to school sonny boy. Taking off is the most dangerous.

You need to go back to school sonny boy. Taking off is the most dangerous.


You may need to go back to school, (hint: there are quotation marks).

Reportedly 16 pax on board, all on an organised trekking holiday, presumably each with a fair amount of kit ...