Nepal mourns as black boxes from crashed Yeti Airlines plane found in Pokhara

Searchers on Monday found both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from a passenger flight that crashed on Sunday, killing at least 68 people in Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, officials said. The data on the recorders may help investigators determine what caused the Yeti Airlines ATR 72 aircraft, carrying 72 people, to crash in clear weather just before landing in the tourist city of Pokhara. Both recorders were in good shape and would be sent for analysis based on the recommendation of the manufacturer, Teknath Sitaula, an official at the Kathmandu airport, said on Monday. It remains unclear what caused the crash, the Himalayan country’s deadliest airplane accident in three decades. The weather was mild and not windy on the day of the crash. 68 confirmed dead as Nepal plane crashes seconds before landing Rescuers were battling cloudy weather and poor visibility as they scoured the river gorge for passengers who are unaccounted for, more than 24 hours after the crash. Sixty-eight bodies have been recovered. The plane, on a scheduled flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, gateway to the scenic Annapurna mountain range, was carrying 57 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one person each from Argentina, Ireland, Australia and France. Pokhara police official Ajay K.C. said the search-and-rescue operation, which stopped because of darkness on Sunday, had resumed. Two more bodies were recovered on Monday, taking the death toll to 70, said Navin Acharya, an official at the rescue coordination centre at Kathmandu airport. The search was called off for the remaining two missing people as darkness descended and will resume on Tuesday, he said. All the bodies had been sent to a hospital, Ajay said. Gyan Khakda, a police spokesperson in Pokhara, said 31 bodies have been identified and will be handed over to family after officials finish postmortem reports. The bodies of foreigners and those that are unrecognisable will be sent to Kathmandu for further investigation. At Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, family members appeared distraught as they waited for information. Minutes before the aircraft was to land on Sunday, the pilot asked for a change of runway, a spokesperson for Pokhara airport told Reuters on Monday. “The permission was granted. “We don’t ask [why], whenever a pilot asks we give permission to change approach,” the spokesperson, Anup Joshi, said. Sunday’s crash underlined the need for the government to split up the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), which both regulates airlines and manages airports. “The government must immediately separate the regulatory body and service provider by splitting the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal which is doing both works now,” K.B. Limbu, an aviation expert and a retired pilot, told Reuters. “This leads to a conflict of interests.” Asked for comment, Sitaula, the Kathmandu airport official, denied that there was any conflict of interest in the functioning of CAAN. “Incredibly sad news out of Nepal of a plane crashing with many passengers on board,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, adding that his government was seeking information about the Australian national on board. South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it’s still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene. The Russian ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane. Omar Gutiérrez, governor of Argentina’s Neuquen province, wrote on his official Twitter account that an Argentine passenger on the flight was Jannet Palavecino, from his province. The Facebook page of Palavecino says she was manager of the Hotel Suizo in Neuquen city. She described herself as a lover of travel and adventure tourism. Pokhara’s new international airport began operations only two weeks ago. Nearly 350 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal – home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest – where sudden weather changes can make for hazardous conditions. Experts say air accidents are usually caused by a combination of factors, and investigations can take months or longer. India’s aviation regulator said it would take all measures to ensure safe aviation in the country’s airspace. Nepal has declared a day of national mourning on Monday and set up a panel to investigate the disaster and suggest measures to avoid such incidents in future. Additional reporting by Associated Press

Nepal mourns as black boxes from crashed Yeti Airlines plane found in Pokhara

An official said both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were in good shape as search resumed for four passengers still missing At least 70 people were killed when the ATR 72 aircraft crashed in the tourist city of Pokhara minutes before landing in clear weather

An official said both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were in good shape as search resumed for four passengers still missing

At least 70 people were killed when the ATR 72 aircraft crashed in the tourist city of Pokhara minutes before landing in clear weather