Nepal us bangla airlines crash 49 dead, airport blames pilot

Nepal US-Bangla Airlines crash: 49 dead; airport blames pilot; top updates

A passenger plane of the US-Bangla Airlines, flying to Kathmandu from Dhaka, crashlanded and exploded into a ball of flame on Monday at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, authorities said. Of the 71 people on board, as many as 49 were killed and 22 injured in the crash.The death toll in the crash was confirmed by Nepal Police spokesperson Manoj Neupane. The aircraft caught fire after it skidded off the runway at TIA while landing. Subsequently, the plane crashed in a field, apparently due to technical glitches. The crash is being described as Nepal's worst aviation disaster in over 25 years.

Here are the top 10 developments around the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport plane crash, which is Nepal's worst aviation disaster in over 25 years:

1) Death toll confirmed: According to updated figures, 49 people were killed and 22 injured when the US-Bangla Airlines passenger plane crash-landed and exploded at Nepal's main airport on Monday. Nepal Police spokesperson Manoj Neupane confirmed the death toll.

2) Nationalities of the deceased: The 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, which caught fire after it skidded off the runway at the Tribhuvan International Airport, was carrying 71 people.TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur informed that of the 71 people on board, four were crew members, 33 were Nepalis, 32 Bangladeshis, one Chinese, and one Maldivian national.

3) Airline accuses airport authorities: Imran Asif, who is US-Bangla Airlines' chief executive officer, held Kathmandu's air traffic control responsible for the disaster, accusing it of giving wrong signals, The Himalayan Times, a Nepalese English daily, reported.

Asif claimed that wrong signals might have caused the crash. The Nepalese paper quoted him as telling reporters in Dhaka: "A three-minute conversation between the pilot and the air traffic control before the landing indicated that they sent wrong signal to the pilot."

4) Airport authorities blame pilot: Raj Kumar Chettri, Tribhuvan International Airport general manager, said that the ill-fated US-Bangla Airlines' pilot disregarded their messages and came in from the wrong direction, according to The Himalayan Times report.

Chettri said that the horrific accident took place after the pilot disobeyed the Air Traffic Controller's instructions and took an opposite direction while descending. "Our ATC permitted the aircraft to land from the southern side of the runway but it changed its route and attempted to land from northern side," said Chettri. The airport manager called this action on the pilot's part the "main reason behind the accident".

5) Nepalese PM assures of immediate investigation: Expressing shock and offering his condolences to the bereaved families, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli tweeted that his government would "investigate the incident immediately".According to The Himalayan Times, the Nepalese Prime Minister, along with his defence minister and home minister, and the Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel reached the accident site to take stock of the situation. The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal was also present at the site.

6) Bangladeshi PM cuts short Singapore trip: After the Nepal plane accident, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cut short her Singapore trip and would be returning to her country on Tuesday instead of Wednesday evening, when she was originally scheduled to return, the Dailystar reported. According to the news site, Prime Minister Hasina was in Singapore on a four-day official visit.

Further, the report said that Hasina called her Nepalese counterpart, assuring him of allout assistance from Bangladesh. While citing media reports, the news site said that in a video message from Singapore, Hasina said: "Immediately after the plane crash, I talked to the Prime Minister of Nepal... I told the Prime Minister of Nepal that Bangladesh will always stand by it in the rescue work, treatment and whatever necessary."

7) India condoles loss of lives, offers assistance: Offering any assistance required, India condoled the loss of lives in the Bangladesh airline's crash in Nepal's capital Kathmandu.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali and expressed deepest condolences over the loss of lives in the crash and offered all assistance.We offer our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, a State Department Spokesperson said. We are not aware of any request for US assistance at this time, the spokesperson added.

9) Survivor says 'lucky to be alive': Basanta Bohora, a Nepalese and one of the few passengers to escape with injuries in the deadly plane crash, said that he was lucky to be alive. Bohora, is an employee of Raswita International Travels and Tours.According to agency reports, Bohora was receiving treatment at Thapathali-based Norvic Hospital at the time of reporting.

10) Frequent air accidents in Nepal: Mountainous Nepal is notorious for air accidents.

Small aircraft often run into trouble at provincial airstrips. A Thai Airways flight from Bangkok crashed while trying to land in Kathmandu in 1992 killing all on board.

In early 2016, a Twin Otter turboprop aircraft slammed into a mountainside in Nepal killing all 23 people on board. Two days later, two pilots were killed when a small passenger plane crash-landed in the country's hilly midwest.

ARTICLE SOURCE- BUSINESS STANDARD.