Nepal air tragedy: What we know of Yeti Airlines whose plane crashed minutes before landing
According to the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft involved in the Sunday crash in Nepal is a 15-year-old ATR 72-500. This aircraft was outfitted with an old transponder that provided inaccurate data
Locals look at the wreckage of the passenger plane as rescuers are scouring the crash site, in Pokhara, Nepal. A 72-seat Nepali passenger aircraft crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the central resort town of Pokhara. AP
New Delhi: Nepal’s Yeti Airlines took to the skies with its first commercial flight more than two decades ago and currently has a fleet of six ATR planes.
At least 68 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal’s resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, officials said.
The airline, which connects different destinations in Nepal, operates only ATR 72-500s. Each 70-seater aircraft is a twin-engine turboprop powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127 engines and are equipped with Hamilton Sundstrand composite blade propellers, according to its website.
The carrier, which has cancelled all regular flights for 16 January in the wake of the accident, started its first commercial flight in September 1998 with a single Canadian built DHC6-300 Twin Otter aircraft.
“Serving Nepal for over two decades, we operate ATR 72s in the major cities of Nepal,” says the website.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft involved in the crash on Sunday is 15-year-old ATR 72-500 with registration number 9N-ANC and serial number 754.
This aircraft was equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. “We are downloading high resolution data and verifying the data quality,” it said.
According to Yeti Airlines’ website, in 2009, its sister airline Tara Air was established to take over the Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations with the DHC6-300 and Dornier DO228 aircraft fleet.
“The two airlines together continue to provide the largest network of flight routes throughout Nepal”.
As one goes into the homepage of the website, a notice pops up in mourning of the people who died in the crash.
“In mourning for the passengers who lost their lives in the accident of Yeti Airlines 9N ANC ATR 72 500, we would like to inform you that all regular flights of Yeti Airlines for 16th January 2023 have been cancelled. However, emergency and rescue flights will resume.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” the notice said.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
also read
At least 5 killed in mysterious north Iraq helicopter crash
The AS350 Eurocopter crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday night, the counter-terrorism agency said in a statement posted on social media.
Prachanda's third term as Nepal PM: Why this time India should invest in him
Given that he is backed by Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress which has traditionally been supportive to India, New Delhi must actively engage with him for greater political-economic stability and more equal and mutually beneficial relations
Ten-party meeting fails to reach consensus over Nepal's Vice-President candidate
The vice-presidential election in Nepal is scheduled for 17 March