Captain Anil Rawal of Air Dynasty, who first saw the wreckage of the Canada-built aircraft at 6:25 Thursday morning, said the plane seems to have crashed headlong around the top of the roughly 9,000 feet-high hill.[break]
“We could see the wreckage and bodies scattered in the jungle at an altitude of around 8,800 feet,” Rawal, who had left for the search just ahead of another Air Dynasty chopper flown by Captain Nischal KC after a night´s rest at Rumjatar, said.
“We dropped a staffer each of Air Dynasty and Tara Air near the site, returned to Rumjatar and dropped seven policemen by seven in the morning,” he disclosed.
“The crash site is roughly one minute ahead of the place from where it reported for the last time at 3:13. I am told that the plane crew had reported they were climbing at 8,500 feet at the time and had not talked about the weather,” he added.
Probable explanation for crash
The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the aircraft has been recovered and the actual reason for the crash may only be clear after investigations. “The plane would have cleared the hill if it had climbed just another 200 feet. Normally a plane can climb that height (around 600 feet) in a minute. So, the plane may have encountered problems in climbing and may have therefore crashed. They may also have been blinded by clouds or simply miscalculated the height,” Rawal guessed.
Senior captains of other airlines, who have flown that route, also concur that the aircraft may have had a problem climbing as it was fully loaded. The climbing capacity of a plane varies according to weather conditions and load, they said. “All 22 persons including the crew were adults. There will also be their luggage and some additional load,” they explained.
But the captains are baffled as to why the plane went north instead of south. “They could have easily cleared all the hills while flying at 8,500 feet had they gone south. But they headed north,” one captain said. “Flying north at 8,500 on that route is like committing hara-kiri. We normally fly over that area only at 10,500 feet,” another said.
The captains guessed that the plane may have gone north due to poor weather in the south but they still argued that there would be no hills at 8,500 feet in the south and that would have been the better option.
Executive Director of Tara Air and Yeti Airlines Vijay Shrestha claimed that the aircraft was well-maintained and blamed bad weather for the accident. “There was fog at the lower level and clouds higher up. The plane must have entered the clouds and the pilots may not have been able to see well,” Shrestha guessed.
General Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Dinesh Prasad Shrestha also said the weather in the hilly areas is fickle and may have deteriorated after the plane reported at 3.13 p.m.
Deceased passengers
1. Lt. Col Tshewang Rinchen (Retd), Nyisho, Wangdue
2. Dema (Wife of Lt. Col Tshewang Rinchen)
3. Thinley Rinchen (Son of Lt. Col Tshewang Rinchen)
4. Kezang Wangmo, (Sister of Dema, wife of Lt. Co. Tshewang Rinchen)
5. Karma (Lam), (Nephew of Lt. Co. Tshewang Rinchen)
6. Phub Pem, Nyisho, Wangdue (Mother of Sl. No. 7, Samdrup and sister of Lt. Col Tshewang Rinchen)
7. Samdrup, Nyisho, Wangdue (Accountant, CBS), nephew of Lt. Col Tshewang Rinchen
8. Phub Gyelmo, Phadekha, Wangdue (Mother of Tsagay, monk, Dochhoety Goenpa, Paro)
9. Tshering Wangmo, Talo Punakha (mother of Yeshey, Gokha).
10. Dorji Bidha, Talo Punakha (Sister of Sl. No. 9, Tshering Wangmo)
11. Pema Wangmo, Talo, Punakha (Daughter of Sl. No. 10, Dorji Bidha)
12. Sangay (Lam), Gaselo, Wangdue (Brother of Ven. Drapai Lopen).
13. Kunzang Dorji, (Owner of Gyelyong Enterprise)
14. Kelzang, Hebisa, Punakha (Mother of Ngawang Tenzin, Tailoring Shop, 17613667)
15. Lhazin Wangmo, student - Class XI Science, MHSS, (recipient of Class IX Topper Certificate in 2008 from His Majesty - daughter of Tshering Zangmo, Hebisa, Punakha. She was adopted by Sl No. 16, Kelzang.
16. Sangay Bidha, Hebisa, Punakha
17. Tshering Yangki
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