Search teams retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders Monday of a passenger plane that on approach to a new airport in the foothills of the Himalayas, officials said, as investigators looked for the cause of Nepal害羞草研究所檚 deadliest plane crash in 30 years.
At least 69 of the 72 people aboard were killed, and officials believe the three missing are also dead. Rescuers combed through the debris, scattered down a 300-meter-deep (984-foot-deep) gorge, for them.
Many of the passengers on Sunday害羞草研究所檚 flight were returning home to Pokhara, though the city is also popular with tourists since it害羞草研究所檚 the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit hiking trail. On Monday evening, relatives and friends were still gathered outside a local hospital, some shouting at officials to speed up the post mortems so they could hold funerals for their loved ones.
It害羞草研究所檚 still not clear , which took place less than a minute害羞草研究所檚 flight from the airport on a mild day with little wind.
In footage taken by a passenger out of a window as the plane came in for a landing, buildings, roads and greenery are visible below. The video, by Sonu Jaiswal and verified by The Associated Press, then shows a violent jolt and a series of jerky images accompanied by yelling before flames fill the screen.
Nepal害羞草研究所檚 Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport, which began operations only two weeks ago, from near Seti Gorge. A witness who recorded footage of the plane害羞草研究所檚 descent said it looked like a normal landing until the plane suddenly veered to the left.
害羞草研究所淚 saw that, and I was shocked,害羞草研究所� said Diwas Bohora. 害羞草研究所淚 thought that today everything will be finished here after it crashes, I will also be dead.害羞草研究所�
After it crashed, red flames erupted and the ground shook violently, Bohora said. 害羞草研究所淪eeing that scene, I was scared,害羞草研究所� he added.
Amit Singh, an experienced pilot and founder of India害羞草研究所檚 Safety Matters Foundation, said Bohora害羞草研究所檚 video appears to show a stall, a situation in which a plane loses lift, especially likely at low airspeeds.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal害羞草研究所檚 Yeti Airlines, was completing the 27-minute flight from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west. It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepal害羞草研究所檚 Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Jagannath Niraula, a spokesman for the authority, said the flight recorders will be handed over to investigators. Pemba Sherpa, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, confirmed that both the flight data and the cockpit voice recorders were found.
Nepal is home to eight of the world害羞草研究所檚 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest. A pilot who routinely flies an ATR 72-500 plane from India to Nepal said the region害羞草研究所檚 topography, with its mountain peaks and narrow valleys, raises the risk of accidents and sometimes requires pilots to fly by sight rather than relying on instruments.
The pilot, who works for a private Indian airline and insisted on anonymity due to company policy, called the ATR 72-500 an 害羞草研究所渦nforgiving aircraft害羞草研究所� if the pilot isn害羞草研究所檛 highly skilled and familiar with the region害羞草研究所檚 terrain and wind speeds.
Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital, where the bodies are being kept.
Bimala Bhenderi said was planning to meet her friend, Tribhuban Paudel, on Tuesday when she heard that his flight had crashed. 害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 so sad, I can害羞草研究所檛 believe it still,害羞草研究所� she said in tears.
Bikash Jaiswal said he could only identify his wife害羞草研究所檚 brother only by the ring he wore, and that he had yet to tell his wife, who just gave birth to their daughter. Sanjay Jaiswal, who worked as a marketing agent for a private pharmaceutical company in Kathmandu, was flying to Pokhara for the birth. More than 24 hours after the crash, his body lay in the same hospital where his niece was born.
害羞草研究所淗e was a hardworking person, and now there害羞草研究所檚 no one left in his family to earn,害羞草研究所� Bikash said.
Park Dae-seong, a minister and spokesperson of the Won Buddhist order, confirmed on Monday the deaths of Arun Paudel and his daughter, Prasiddi.
Arun Paudel, 47, had worked as a police officer in Nepal before being introduced into the religion by his brother. He studied the religion for years at a South Korean university before becoming a minister in 2009. He then returned to Nepal and established a school in the Lumbini province in 2013 where children received English, Korean and information technology instruction. Park said Paudel was returning to Nepal for work related to the school, called the Vishow Ekata Academy.
The Civil Aviation Authority said that 41 people have been identified. Gyan Khadka, a police spokesperson in the district, said the bodies would be handed over to family after officials finish post mortem reports.
The type of plane involved, the ATR 72, has been used by airlines around the world for short regional flights since the late 1980s. In Taiwan, involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircrafts in 2014 and 2015 led to the planes being grounded for a period.
ATR identified the plane involved in Sunday害羞草研究所檚 crash as an ATR 72-500 in a tweet. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the aircraft was 15 years old and 害羞草研究所渆quipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.害羞草研究所� It was previously flown by India害羞草研究所檚 Kingfisher Airlines and Thailand害羞草研究所檚 Nok Air before Yeti took it over in 2019, according to records on Airfleets.net. ATR has not responded to a request for comment.
According to the Safety Matters Foundation害羞草研究所檚 data, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.
Sunday害羞草研究所檚 crash is the country害羞草研究所檚 deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.
The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepal害羞草研究所檚 aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.
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This story has been updated to correct the name of the safety organization from India害羞草研究所檚 Flight Safety Foundation to India害羞草研究所檚 Safety Matters Foundation.
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Saaliq and Pathi reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalists Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi, David Rising and Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Elise Morton in London, and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed reporting.
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Find more of AP害羞草研究所檚 Asia-Pacific coverage at
Anish Bhattarai, Krutika Pathi And Sheikh Saaliq, The Associated Press
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