18 killed in Nepal plane crash

The twin-engined Otter aircraft of the Yeti airlines hit the airport boundary fence while approaching for landing in bad weather conditions at 7.35 am (local time), according to state-run Nepal TV. The aircraft was carrying 19 people including 3 crew members. While 18 were killed on the spot, the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft Captain Surendra Kunwar survived, but was stated to be in critical condition at the TU Teaching Hospital were he was rushed.

The plane was carrying as many as 14 foreign tourists and 4 Nepalese. These included 12 Germans and 2 Australians. The Kathmandu-Lukla flight is more popularly known as Everest flight as it ferries tourists who want to see Mount Everest from close or to take part in treks around its base camp.

The 19-seat Yeti Airlines DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, which had taken off from the capital, Kathmandu, snagged its wheels on a security fence during its landing at Lukla airport, about 40 miles from Mount Everest, said Mohan Adhikari, general manager of the Kathmandu airport.

Officials at the airport said that bad weather was the reason for the crash. “According to initial reports we have it crashed before it was to land and caught fire,” said Yagya Prasad Gautam, chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). “The accident was probably caused by a last minute change in the weather.”

The area was completely covered by clouds when the accident occurred. The flight from Kathmandu to the Lukla airstrip named after the Everest heroes Tenzing-Hillary is the gateway to the Everest region used by thousands of trekkers and mountaineers. The Everest base-camp-trek were tourist fly into Lukla and trek around for weeks — is one of the most popular routes.

The remote airport at Lukla was built in the 1960s by mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary to facilitate expeditions to Mount Everest and bring development to the impoverished area where the Sherpa community, known for their climbing skills, live.

The tiny Lukla airport, little more than a runway carved from the side of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2,800 meters, is an important jumping-off point for trekkers beginning their hikes and mountaineers heading to Everest. The walk takes several days from there to Mount Everest Base Camp.

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