Nepal finds black boxes of aircraft after deadliest crash

KATHMANDU: Searchers found the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder on Monday from a passenger flight that crashed, killing at least 70 people in Nepal’s worst plane accident for 30 years, officials said.

The data on the recorders may help investigators determine what caused the Yeti Airlines ATR 72 aircraft, carrying 72 people, to go down in clear weather on Sunday just before landing in the tourist city of Pokhara.

Both recorders were in good shape and will be sent for analysis based on the recommendation of the manufacturer, Teknath Sitaula, a Kathmandu airport official, told Reuters.

Under international aviation rules, the crash investigation agency of the country where the plane was designed and built is automatically part of the inquiry.

ATR is based in France and the plane’s engines were manufactured in Canada by Pratt & Whitney Canada.

Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority has inspected all ATR 72 and ATR 42 aircraft operating in the country since the crash and found no technical faults in them, it said in a statement on Monday.

There are currently 16 ATR 72 aircraft and three ATR 42s with multiple airlines in the country, an aviation authority official said.

Rescuers battled cloudy weather and poor visibility on Monday as they scoured a river gorge for passengers who are unaccounted for, more than 24 hours after the crash.

Two more bodies were recovered on Monday, taking the death toll to 70, said Navin Acharya, an official at the rescue coordination centre at Kathmandu airport. The search was called off for the remaining two missing people as darkness descended and will resume on Tuesday, he said.

Pokhara police official Ajay K.C. said all bodies had been sent to a hospital.

In the capital Kathmandu around 100 people lit candles at a gathering in memory of the crash victims and called on the government to ensure proper safety standards, witnesses said.

Condolences poured in from around the world, including the Vatican.