Yeti Airlines flight 691 crashed Sunday just before landing in Nepal's tourist city of Pokhara, the gateway to a popular hiking area in the Himalayas, after a 27-minute trip from Kathmandu.
Pilots say Nepal can be a challenging place to fly, but conditions at the time of the crash were good, with low wind, clear skies and temperatures well above freezing. So what might have caused the crash of the ATR 72 aircraft?A dramatic video shot on a smartphone from the ground shows the last moments before the plane crashed in a gorge about 1.6 kilometres from newly opened Pokhara International Airport.
"I'd suggest that the aircraft has entered into an aerodynamic stall," he said after reviewing the video just before the crash. "Possibly pilot error."QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT "Human factors will be an element that the investigators will have a look at to see whether or not there's been proper training," Bartsch said. "But normally aircraft don't just fall out of the sky, particularly modern aircraft."
The pilot, who works for a private Indian airline and didn't want to be identified due to company policy, called ATR-72-500 an "unforgiving aircraft" if the pilot isn't highly skilled and familiar with the region's terrain and wind speed. The country's "hostile topography" and "diverse weather patterns" were the major challenges, according to a 2019 safety report from Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, also resulting in a "number of accidents" to small aircraft. The report said such accidents happened at airports that had short strips of runway for takeoff and landing and most were due to pilot error.
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At least 68 killed in Nepal's worst air crash in three decadesKATHMANDU — At least 68 people were killed on Sunday when a domestic flight of Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, the worst air crash in three decades…
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At least 68 killed in Nepal's worst air crash in three decadesKATHMANDU — At least 68 people were killed on Sunday when a domestic flight of Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, the worst air crash in three decades…
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68 confirmed dead in Nepal’s worst plane crash in 30 yearsA regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara
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68 confirmed dead, 4 missing in Nepal's worst plane crash in decadesA plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people. At least one witness reported hearing cries for help from the fiery wreck. It's the country's deadliest airplane accident in three decades.
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