Govt forms probe panel to investigate Summit Air's crash

Published On: April 15, 2019 11:07 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, April 15: The government has formed a committee to probe into the Summit Air's plane crash that killed three people in Lukla yesterday.

The team will be led by former Director - General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Rajesh Raj Dali. Its members include Nepal Airlines Corporation's engineer, Rajesh Shrestha and Sita Air's pilot, Rabindra Dangol and Joint-Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane.

The accident occurred when the Summit Air's plane with call sign 9N AMH skidded off the Tenzing Hilary Airport in Solukhumbu and collided with parked helicopter of Shree Airlines with call sign 9N ALC'.

The Czech-built STOL aircraft was about to take off for Kathmandu when it lost control, veered off the runway and crashed into the parked helicopter of Manang Air at 9.20 am yesterday. Those deceased were Ram Bahadur Khadka, a tourist police officer, Sujit Dhungana, co-pilot of Summit Air and Rudra Bahadur Shrestha, an assistant sub-inspector of Nepal Police.

Yesterday's crash is the latest aviation disaster to hit the country. In February, seven people including the tourism minister had died in a helicopter accident in eastern Nepal. In March last year, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crashed near the runway of Kathmandu airport, killing 51 people.