The preliminary investigation report suggests that the crash of Yeti Airlines flight in Nepal last month, which resulted in the death of 72 people, was likely caused by a human error related to a mix-up with the lever on the board.
On January 15, the airplane from Yeti Airlines, traveling from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, to the popular tourist destination of Pokhara, tragically crashed just before it was about to land.
One passenger is presumed dead but still unaccounted for, along with 71 bodies that were recovered by rescuers. Among the 72 people on board the aircraft, there were 10 foreign nationals, four crew members, and two infants, including 72 individuals in total.
Captain KC Kamal replied to the preliminary 13-page report released on Wednesday, which stated that the flaps, called “Flaps 30,” were descending according to the co-pilot’s instructions. The fatal crash occurred less than two minutes before Captain Anju Khatiwada called for the flaps to be deployed.
However, the flight data recorder “did not capture any movement of the flap surface during that period.”
The pilots might have moved the power lever instead of the controlling lever of the flaps, suggesting that both engines be feathered, meaning there was no thrust in the push to forward the plane. As a result, the rotation speed of the propeller for both engines decreased and the torque started dropping to 0%.
According to Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at the Tourism Ministry, the pilots neglected to adhere to standard checklists and postponed the deployment of the flaps. The investigative committee is currently investigating the reasons behind this occurrence, as reported by the Kathmandu Post.
Earlier this month, the panel stated that the analysis of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder showed that both engines’ propellers went into a feathered position.
The report, which was published on the website of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Civil Aviation of Nepal, mentioned that during the flight, the investigation team noticed that both engines of 9N-ANC were in a flight idle state while both propellers were in a feathered position in order to prevent over torque.
Based on the initial report, Khatiwada stated on two occasions that the engines lacked power when the air traffic controller in Pokhara authorized the flight to land.
Following a prior journey, which was their third of the morning, KC, the instructor pilot on the training flight, was being piloted by Khatiwada, who was in the midst of gaining familiarity with the airport for operations in Pokhara, the ill-fated flight.
According to the report, Khatiwada, 44, was the pilot operating the aircraft, while KC, 58, was the pilot observing.
Following in the footsteps of her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, who was killed four years prior when the small passenger plane he was piloting crashed minutes before landing, Khatiwada joined Yeti Nepal’s Airlines in 2010.
Since 1989, KC has been operating aircraft and has successfully finished his pilot training in the United States. He has accumulated an additional 21,900 flight hours compared to his peers.