Voice recorders and flight data retrieved from the Nepal crash site

POKHARA (AP) — A spokesman from Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said that a flight data recorder, as well as a cockpit voice recorder, were recovered from the scene of the crash of a passenger aircraft that crashed on approach to a new airport in Pokhara.

Jagannath Niraula stated that the boxes were discovered Monday, one day after the ATR-72 plane crashed killing 68 of the 72 passengers. He stated that they would be turned over to investigators.

Pemba Sherpa from Yeti Airlines confirmed that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were both found.

Monday was Nepal’s national day of mourning. Rescue workers rappelled down a 300-meter (984ft) canyon to continue their search. Monday morning saw the discovery of two more bodies.

The cause of the Himalayan country’s most fatal plane accident in 30 years is still unknown. On the day of the crash, the weather was calm and not windy.

A witness who recorded the footage from his balcony of the plane’s descent said that he saw it flying low, before suddenly turning to the left. “I saw it and was shocked… “I thought everything would be over after it crashes. I was shocked,” Diwas Bohora said. Bohora stated that red flames flared and the ground shook violently after it crashed. “I was afraid. “Seeing that scene made me scared.”

Another witness claimed that he witnessed the plane twist violently in the air as it started to descend toward land. He was watching from his terrace. Finally, Gaurav Gurung stated that the plane crashed into the gorge after it fell nose-first to its left.

According to Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, the aircraft made contact with the airport at 10.50 a.m. from Seti Gorge before it crashed.

Yeti Airlines operated the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft. It flew for 27 minutes from Kathmandu to Pokhara (200 km / 125 miles west). The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority stated that the aircraft was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals and four crew members. Five Indians, four Russians, and two South Koreans were among the foreign passengers, as well as one from each France, Australia, Argentina, and Ireland.

Many hundreds of people gathered in front of the Pokhara Academy for Health and Science, Western Hospital where the bodies were being kept. As they waited, relatives and friends of victims, many from Pokhara were there to comfort one another.

Bimala Bhenderi waited outside the post-mortem area Monday. Tribhuban Paudel was due to meet her on Tuesday when she learned that his plane had crashed. She cried, “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe that it is still,” she said.

Gyan Khadka was a spokesperson for the police in the district. He said that 31 bodies had been identified and would be given to relatives after post-mortem reports are completed. For further investigation, the bodies of foreigners as well as those not easily identified will be sent to Kathmandu.

Twitter was abuzz with images of plumes and smoke coming from the crash site located about 1.6 km (nearly one mile) from Pokhara International Airport. The fuselage of the aircraft was broken into several pieces that were then scattered along the gorge.

As rescue workers worked to find the wreckage at the base of the cliff, and the ravine below, hundreds of people remained around the crash site in Pokhara for hours after dark.

Bishnu Tiwari (a local resident) rushed to the scene near the Seti River to assist in the search for bodies. However, he said that the rescue efforts were hindered by thick smoke and a raging flame.

“The flames were so intense that we couldn’t get near the wreckage. Tiwari stated that he heard a man cries for help but couldn’t save him because of the smoke and flames.

Family members in Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport were distraught while they waited for more information.

After the accident, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prime Minister of Pakistan, rushed to the airport and established a panel for investigation.

“The incident was tragic. He stated that the entire force of the Nepali Army and police was deployed to rescue him.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry stated in a statement, that they are still trying to determine the fates of two South Korean passengers. They also sent staff to the scene. Alexei Novikov (Russian Ambassador to Nepal) confirmed that four Russian citizens died on the plane.

Omar Gutierrez (the governor of Argentina’s Neuquen Province) wrote on his official Twitter account, that Jannet Palavecino was an Argentine passenger on this flight.

Palavecino’s Facebook page states that she was the manager of Hotel Suizo in Neuquen. She describes herself as a lover of travel and adventure tourism.

Jim Chalmers, Australian Treasurer, told reporters Monday that his heart was with the families of all the passengers and crew who lost their lives. He also said that the government would provide consular support for the family of an Australian passenger on the plane.

Pokhara is home to the Annapurna Circuit. This popular Himalayan hiking trail can be found in Pokhara. Two weeks ago, the city’s international airport opened.

ATR 72, the type of plane in question, is used worldwide by airlines for short regional flights. The aircraft model was introduced in the late 1980s by an Italian and French partnership. It has been involved in many fatal accidents over the years.

Two accidents involving ATR 72 500 and ATR 72 600 aircraft occurred in Taiwan just a few months apart.

48 people were killed when a TransAsia ATR 72 500 flight crashed in July 2014. It was trying to land on the Penghu archipelago, which lies between Taiwan and China. After one engine failed, the second engine was stopped by accident and an ATR 72-600 aircraft operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed in Taipei shortly after takeoff.

The dramatic footage of the 2015 crash captured by TransAsia showed the plane hitting a taxi as it was thrown out of control. This resulted in 43 deaths and forced authorities to temporarily ground all ATR 72s registered in Taiwan. TransAsia stopped all flights in 2016 and went out of business later.

ATR tweeted Sunday’s crash victim as ATR 72-500. Flightradar24.com’s plane tracking data shows that the aircraft was 15 years old and had an “old transponder with unreliable information.” According to Airfleets.net records, it was flown previously by India’s Kingfisher Airlines as well as Thailand’s Nok Air. Yeti took over the aircraft in 2019.

According to Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, the company has six ATR 72-500 aircraft.

There have been many air crashes in Nepal, which is home to eight of the 14 highest mountains on the planet, including Mount Everest. Sunday’s accident is the deadliest in Nepal since 1992 when all 167 passengers on a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed into a hill while trying to land in Kathmandu.

According to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety database, there have been 42 plane crashes that killed passengers in Nepal since 1946.

A 2019 safety report by Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority stated that the country’s hostile topography and unpredictable weather patterns were the greatest dangers to flights. According to the report, such accidents occurred at airports with short runways for takeoff and landing. Most of these were caused by pilot errors.

According to the report, 37% of all Nepalese air crashes between 2009 and 2018 were caused by pilot errors. This does not include helicopters or recreational flights.

Since 2013, the European Union has prohibited airlines from Nepal from flying into its 27-nation bloc. This was due to weak safety standards. The International Civil Aviation Organization highlighted improvements in Nepal’s aviation industry in 2017, but the EU insists on administrative reforms.