Nepal plane crash: Conversation between air traffic control and pilot resulted in confusion, say authorities
Nepalese investigators have retrieved the black box from the wreckage a Bangladeshi plane that crashed here, killing 49 people, authorities said today as the conversation between the air traffic controllers and the pilot before the tragedy indicated a possible confusion over the runway.
The Dhaka to Kathmandu US-Bangla Airlines flight, with 67 passengers and four crew members on board, caught fire after it careened off the runway and ploughed into a football ground near the Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday.
“The flight data recorder has been recovered we have kept it safely,” said Raj Kumar Chettri, the airport’s general manager, adding that an investigation into the cause of the crash had begun.
The airline and airport authorities have blamed each other for the tragedy, the worst in the country in 25 years, after it emerged that there was confusion over landing instructions.
There were 33 Nepalese nationals on board flight UBG 211, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. Others include 32 Bangladeshis, one Chinese and one Maldivian.
Bombardier is a twin-engine, medium-range and turboprop aircraft.
Canadian plane maker Bombardier said it was sending an air safety investigator to the site, as well as a field service representative.
The Nepal government formed a six-member committee to probe the crash-landing.
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