Nepal tragedy: Toll rises to 51; confusion possibly led to US Bangla crash

A passenger plane of the US-Bangla Airlines, flying to Kathmandu from Dhaka, crash-landed and exploded into a ball of flame on Monday at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, authorities said. Of the 71 people on board, as many as 49 were killed and 22 injured in the crash. The death toll in the crash was confirmed by Nepal Police spokesperson Manoj Neupane. The aircraft caught fire after it skidded off the runway at TIA while landing. Subsequently, the plane crashed in a field, apparently due to technical glitches. The crash is being described as Nepal's worst aviation disaster in over 25 years. Condoling the bereaved families, Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli tweeted that his government would "investigate the incident immediately". Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Sanjiv Gautam, said that the plane lost control when it attempted to land on the runway. "The aircraft was permitted to land from the southern side of the runway flying over Koteshwor but it landed from the northern side," said Gautam. He added that the aircraft might have sustained technical glitches. "We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing," he said. On Monday, India condoled the loss of lives in the Nepal airplane crash and offered any assistance required. The US, too, offered its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims who were killed in the plane crash at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport. The victims of the Kathmandu plane crash were citizens of Nepal, Bangladesh, China, and the Maldives, according to a TIA spokesperson. After the crash, all flights in and out of the Tribhuvan International Airport were cancelled. The airport was reopened later. Here are the top 10 developments around the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport plane crash, which is Nepal's worst aviation disaster in over 25 years: 1) Nepal plane crash caused by confusion about runway? 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. 2) Death toll confirmed: According to updated figures, 49 people were killed and 22 injured when the US-Bangla Airlines passenger plane crash-landed and exploded at Nepal's main airport on Monday. Nepal Police spokesperson Manoj Neupane confirmed the death toll. According to Neupane's statement, 31 bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the crashed plane while 18 others died in hospitals. 3) Nationalities of the deceased: The 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, which caught fire after it skidded off the runway at the Tribhuvan International Airport, was carrying 71 people. TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur informed that of the 71 people on board, four were crew members, 33 were Nepalis, 32 Bangladeshis, one Chinese, and one Maldivian national. 4) Airline accuses airport authorities: Imran Asif, who is US-Bangla Airlines' chief executive officer, held Kathmandu's air traffic control responsible for the disaster, accusing it of giving wrong signals, The Himalayan Times, a Nepalese English daily, reported. Asif claimed that wrong signals might have caused the crash. The Nepalese paper quoted him as telling reporters in Dhaka: "A three-minute conversation between the pilot and the air traffic control before the landing indicated that they sent wrong signal to the pilot." A Bangladeshi news site, the Dailystar, reported that US-Bangla Airlines officials suspect "negligence" on part of the airport's air traffic control. According to the site, Asif told the media that there was a "tendency of giving misinformation and a negligence on behalf of the ATC at Nepal airport". According to the Bangladeshi news site, the pilot of the plane was Abid Sultan, who had 5,000 hours of flying experience under his belt. The report added that Sultan was an instructor for Bombardier. 5) Airport authorities blame pilot: Raj Kumar Chettri, Tribhuvan International Airport general manager, said that the ill-fated US-Bangla Airlines' pilot disregarded their messages and came in from the wrong direction, according to The Himalayan Times report. Chettri said that the horrific accident took place after the pilot disobeyed the Air Traffic Controller's instructions and took an opposite direction while descending. "Our ATC permitted the aircraft to land from the southern side of the runway but it changed its route and attempted to land from northern side," said Chettri. The airport manager called this action on the pilot's part the "main reason behind the accident". According to the Nepalese daily, Chettri said that the pilot had said that he wanted to go in a northern direction moments after the US-Bangla Airlines' flight received permission to land. Chettri told the paper that when asked by the control tower if there was a problem, the pilot had replied in the negative. Chettri described what happened next to the Nepalese paper: The US-Bangla Airlines' flight was then seen making two rounds in a northeast direction. Once again, the traffic controllers asked the pilot if things were OK. The pilot replied in the positive.

Subsequently, the tower told the pilot that his alignment was incorrect. However, they received no reply. "The plane should have come from the right direction," Chettri told the newspaper. The aircraft narrowly went past a Thai Airways aircraft parked on the runway, he told news agencies. At the time of reporting, the Nepalese newspaper said that it was not clear whether the pilot had issued a "Mayday" call. 6) Nepalese PM assures of immediate investigation: Expressing shock and offering his condolences to the bereaved families, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli tweeted that his government would "investigate the incident immediately".

Extremely shocked by unfortunate carsh of US_ Bangla Aircraft carrying 67 passengers and 4 crew members. Express deep sorrow on loss of lives and condole to bereaved families and also wish for early recovery of injured persons. Govt will investigate the incident immediately.

— K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) March 12, 2018