Nepal's army and volunteers carry the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara on Jan 17, 2023. The Yeti Airlines ATR 72 plummeted into a steep gorge, smashed into pieces and burst into flames as it approached the central city of Pokhara on January 15, in Nepal's worst aviation disaster since 1992.(PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP VIA GETTYIMAGES)
The co-pilot of a Yeti Airlines flight that crashed this past weekend lost her husband in a similar tragedy 16 years.
Anju Khatiwada was co-piloting Yeti Airlines flight 691 whose crash was the most serious airline crash in the mountainous country in decades.
Her husband Dipak Pokhrel had also been co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight some 16 years prior which also crashed killing all on board. His death inspired her to take up flying as a career.
At least 68 people were killed after a Yeti Airlines ATR 72 aircraft with 72 people on board crashed in the city of Pokhara in Nepal on Sunday..
Nepal army, Police officers, and Armed Police Force (APF) Rescuers recover the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara on Jan 16, 2023. Nepal observed a day of mourning on January 16 for the victims of the nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in three decades, with 67 people confirmed killed in the plane crash. (PRABIN RANABHAT/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTYIMAGES)
Sunday’s crash is Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed, killing all 167 people on board.
Nepal’s army and volunteers carry the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara on Jan 17, 2023. The Yeti Airlines ATR 72 plummeted into a steep gorge, smashed into pieces and burst into flames as it approached the central city of Pokhara on January 15, in Nepal’s worst aviation disaster since 1992.(PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP VIA GETTYIMAGES)
“Plane cruised at 12,500 feet and was on a normal descent,” said Anup Joshi, Pokhara Airport spokesman. The aircraft crashed as it approached the airport, the weather was clear at the time of the crash.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft was arriving from Kathmandu, located 125 miles west of Pokhara.
Yeti Airlines ATR 72 aircraft in Pokhara Airport on Apr 2022. The ATR 72-500 turboprop airplane has the registration 9N-AMM and is powered by 2x PWC engines while the crashed aircraft 9N-ANC is in the background. Yeti Airlines Pvt. Ltd. is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal, with an exclusive fleet of ATR, parent company of Tara Air. On January 15 2023 the ATR72 with registration 9N-ANC crashed near Pokhara, an additional record to Nepal’s long accident list. (NICOLAS ECONOMOU/NURPHOTO VIA GETTYIMAGES)
The plane contacted the airport while flying over Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. local time and was approaching for a landing when the crash occurred according to the aviation authority.
The Nepal government has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the crash. The report is expected to be out within 45 days.
“Deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident,” said Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepal’s Prime Minister.
