A member of the probe committee formed to investigate the plane crash, which killed all 14 people on board, told Republica that the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) clearly shows the plane crashed after both its generators failed. [break]
According to the probe team member, the CVR has recorded the captain of the ill-fated plane, LPB (Lucky) Shah, as saying: "Both generators had to go dead in such weather."
The member also said the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) indicates that the plane crashed 10 minutes after the generator failure.
The Dornier-228 was equipped with two standby batteries which supply 30 minutes power backup in case of generator failure. The FDR also indicates that the landing gear was lowered by the pilots immediately after the generator failure, and this could possibly have eaten up much of the backup power.
Lowering the landing gear can consume about 10 to 15 minutes of battery life. "By the time the aircraft arrived at Nopen (16 NM from Kathmandu), it might have completely exhausted its batteries, thus leading to the crash."
In case of power failure, malfunction occurs in navigational equipment including Artificial Horizons. And, the pilots get spatial disorientation leading to CFIT (Controlled Flight into Terrain). CFIT is described as an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, or water.
"If electronic instruments fail to operate while the aircraft is in the clouds, the plane can make a vertical descent within a few seconds and the pilots may not get time even to communicate with the tower," says a flight expert.
The Lukla-bound AG-101 crashed on August 24, 2010 at Shikharpur, Makawanpur, 19.5 aeronautical miles (35 kilometers) south of Kathmandu while it was diverting back to Kathmandu due to bad weather in Lukla.
The government formed five-member probe committee is likely to submit its report within a week.
The 9N-AHE plane was privately owned before it was brought to Nepal. Asked aside about frequent human errors leading to air fatalities in Nepal, a senior flight instructor and a flight safety in-charge had the same answer: "Do not fly under pressure!"
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