Yeti Airlines airplane crash leaves 18 dead

[Le Addeur noir]

News reports state the above nemed Nepalese airline lost one of it´s airplanes killing eighteen persons on board,including twelve German and two Swiss tourists.

The crash airplane was attempting to lane at Tenzing-Hilary airport,Lukla arriving from the capital city of Kathmandu.

The airline,Yeti Ailines operated a fleet of 5 DHC-6 Twin Otters and 5 BAe Jetstream 41.The type of airplane lost in the crash was not stated on the report on http://www.bbc.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

UPDATE-a report on http://www.bangkokpost.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; states that one Nepalese pilot survived the crash.If so,the death toll would be seventeen.

[RobertMB]

Very sad news.....

Type of the involved aircraft is a DHC-6 Twin Otter.

Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/ ... 1st_Lead__" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BR,

Robert

[Aviatiek]

CNN.com
Update 5 minutes ago: It caught fire after hitting an airport fence ...

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- A small plane carrying tourists from Germany and Australia hit a fence and caught fire in Nepal's Everest region Wednesday morning, killing 18 of 19 people on board, officials said.
The pilot of the Yeti Airlines plane is brought by medical staff into a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The plane carried 16 passengers -- including 12 German tourists, two Australians and two Nepalis as well as three crew members.
"Only one crew member survived," said Binaya Shakya of Yeti Airlines, the company that operated the plane.

The plane was headed from the capital city, Kathmandu, to Lukla airport, about 155 miles (250 km) to the east. It caught fire after hitting an airport fence as it was trying to land at the airport, the country's Civil Aviation Authority said.
The airline said the airport, at an altitude of about 9,186 feet (2,800 meters) was suddenly enveloped by fog when plane was landing.
Tourists fly to Lukla and trek to the Everest Base Camp at about 15,700 feet (4,800 meters).
October is the peak tourist season in the country.


Ruud.

[Key]

At Lukla! That's one of the most bizarre airports in the world. Tragic to crash there by 'just' hitting a fence, compared to all the skills needed for every arrival and departure...
Great overview of the field on A.net.

Edit: behind the photographer is a granite wall almost to infinity, aka. the mountain. This is a no-options airport for arrival and departure.

[cHabu]

.

Hiya,

Taken from a story by Flightglobal.com:

Senior manager Vinay Shakya confirms from Kathmandu that the crash occurred at Lukla airport in eastern Nepal.
He says the Twin Otter was operating a domestic flight from the capital Kathmandu and 19 people were on board.

Shakya says the aircraft carried a registration of 9N-AFE. According to Flight's ACAS database it had a serial number of 720
and was built in 1980. Yeti is listed as the owner.

Credit: Flightglobal / Nicholas Ionides.

LINK

Bye, Chris.