A Nepal Airlines 19-seater Twin Otter flying from Pokhara to Jumla
has been reportedly missing with 15 passengers and three crew since today
afternoon.
The de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter registration 9N-ABB
performing flight RA-183 departed from Pokhara at 12:43 for Jumla but the radio
contact was lost after 30 minutes, while the pilot tried to divert the aircraft
to Bhairahawa due to bad weather.
The pilot had last asked
Bhairahawa airport tower at 13:13 that he is trying to divert as the weather
condition is not good. The
crew members did not reported any technical snag. Three crew members included
pilot Shanker Shrestha, co-pilot Rabindra Banjara and air hostess Muna Maharjan.
The plane
had arrived in Pokhara from Kathmandu in the course of regular flight to Jumla,
according chief of Pokhara Airport Pratap Babu Tiwari.
NA has a
routine flight from Pokhara to Jumla once a week on Sundays.
The missing plane was originally scheduled to land in Jumla at
1:45 pm but is feared having crashed.
The missing
aircraft had not been traced till late evening even as tracking of mobile phone
of captain Shrestha showed that the plane could have met with an accident
somewhere in Maruwakot area of Arghakhanchi district.
Minister
without portfolio Dr Ram Sharan Mahat reached the Search and Rescue Office at
the Tribhuvan International Airport Sunday evening to inquire about the ongoing
search and rescue efforts.
"Maruwakot
of Arghakhanchi is the likely accident site," he wrote on Twitter after
holding a meeting with the officials concerned. "Bad weather hampering
search works."
A team of 150 Nepal Army and police, along with the locals, have
not yet reached the suspected crash site in a remote area of Khidim in Argakhanchi
district.
The rescue personnel including the police and locals have been
trying to reach the suspected crash site at the corner of three districts – Gulmi,
Palpa and Argakhanchi – but in vein as the bad weather condition has been preventing
them.
Two separate
choppers of Fishtail Air and Nepal Army have been deployed to search the
missing aircraft could not locate the plane due to bad weather conditions,
according to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal that has late in the evening called of the search
operations due to poor visibility in the area.
The aircraft has one Danish citizen and an infant among the
passengers.
Nepal Airlines
– then Royal Nepal Airlines – had introduced two Twin Otters in early 1971. The
same aircraft with a call sign 9N-ABB missing today had met with an accident at
Jumla airport in July 1992 but has been in operation after repair.
The aircraft had
Three crew members
Captain Shanker Shrestha
Co-Pilot Rabindra Banjara
Air Hostess Muna Maharajan
Captain Shanker Shrestha
Co-Pilot Rabindra Banjara
Air Hostess Muna Maharajan
15 Passengers
IM Sejuwal – NC Politician
Gauri Kathayat – Journalist
IM Sejuwal – NC Politician
Gauri Kathayat – Journalist
Dr IB
Pokharel
ID Shrestha
N Mahatara
D Mahatara
T Mahatara
BP Upadhyay
U Tamang
RP Devkota
R Chaulagain
D Shahi
D Neupane
An infant (name not known)
including a Danish national IM Matheisen
ID Shrestha
N Mahatara
D Mahatara
T Mahatara
BP Upadhyay
U Tamang
RP Devkota
R Chaulagain
D Shahi
D Neupane
An infant (name not known)
including a Danish national IM Matheisen
EU blacklist and Nepali Sky
KATHMANDU: The
incident again highlighted safety concerns about the aircraft. Recently, the
European Union (EU) had blacklisted Nepali aircraft to fly to European sky citing
poor safety record, though non of the Nepali airlines fly to Europe at present.
However, the country has suffered a number of air crashes in recent years
mostly attributed to inexperienced pilots, poor management and maintenance.
The hijack history
KATHMANDU: The aircraft missing today was the same aircraft that Nepali Congress (NC) activists hijacked in on on June 10, 1973 and took to Farbesgunj in India to fund the anti-Panchayat movement. One of the architect of the hijack is the incumbent prime minister Sushil Koirala, who had also been jailed in India for his involvement in the hijack. The aircraft was ferrying money from Nepal Rastra Bank's Biratnagar office to Kathmandu, when Nepali Congress leasders including Durga Subedi and Umesh Giri hijacked it and landed in Farbesgunj.
KATHMANDU: The aircraft missing today was the same aircraft that Nepali Congress (NC) activists hijacked in on on June 10, 1973 and took to Farbesgunj in India to fund the anti-Panchayat movement. One of the architect of the hijack is the incumbent prime minister Sushil Koirala, who had also been jailed in India for his involvement in the hijack. The aircraft was ferrying money from Nepal Rastra Bank's Biratnagar office to Kathmandu, when Nepali Congress leasders including Durga Subedi and Umesh Giri hijacked it and landed in Farbesgunj.
Only one aircraft left for
domestic flight
KATHMANDU: The ailing
national flag carrier that once had a dozen aircraft for its domestic and
international flights have left with only one aircraft for domestic flight from
today. The feared crashed Twin Otter and another one were in operation as the
two aircraft have been waiting for the engines. The Nepal Airlines had recalled
for tender to supply engine for the two aircraft recently. It has been buying
aircraft from China – which is suspected to be one of the key reasons behind the
EU blacklisting – in grants and loan. However, the aircraft will arrive on
April 16 only. Till then the airlines has to reduce its flights in the domestic
market.
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