Earlier on Sunday Morning, while attempting to land at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, an ATR 72 belonging to Yeti Airlines crashed on the bank of the Seti River.
The ATR 72-500 with the registration 9N-ANC was operating flight YT961 from Kathmandu to Pokhara crashed at Pokhara, Nepal, some 1.2 nautical miles before the runway threshold, on the bank of the Seti River, between the old and new airports.
According to Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Yeti Airlines, 68 passengers and four crew members, including Captain Kamal KC, were aboard the wrecked plane. This was the worst incident in the airline’s history and the worst air crash in Nepal in the previous three decades. Neither the passengers nor the crew were able to survive.
The Rescue efforts have been organized by locals, security officers, the military forces, police, fire brigade, and ambulance are still on despite the discovery of dead corpses at the accident site thus far.
In order to expedite rescue efforts, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal convened an emergency meeting of his cabinet. Unfortunately, the sad catastrophe claimed the lives of all the passengers and crew, according to the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority.
Pictures and videos posted on social media sites showed smoke plumes rising from the collision site.
After Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines is Nepal’s second-largest domestic airline. The largest domestic flight network of any Nepali airline, along with the majority of the country’s destinations, is provided by Yeti Airlines and its affiliate Tara Air.
According to local media, the aircraft was reportedly getting ready for an approach to runway 30, but the pilot then asked for an approach to runway 12. The POK VOR at the former airport serves as the Initial Approach Fix (IAF), and according to the published Standard Instrument Arrival method, an aircraft must intercept it at a heading of 087° before turning right for runway 12.
The IAF is 2,4 kilometres away from the runway’s threshold (1.3 nm). The Pokhara International Airport, which opened on January 1, 2023, is situated in the former Pokhara Airport’s east-southeast. All YT691’s flights at the brand-new Pokhara International Airport touched down on runway 30.
We send all of the victims’ families and their loved ones our sincere condolences during this difficult time. God’s peace be with you and your loved ones.
