INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 26The black boxes recovered from the Jan
15 plane crash in Nepal are being sent to Singapore for analysis to identify the cause of the crash that killed all 72 people on board,
25 bodies of plane crash victims brought to Kathmandu
Pokhara plane crash: One more body recovered
Both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder would be examined by experts at Singapore's Transportation Safety
Investigation Bureau.
"The Nepal investigating team is leaving on Friday with the flight data recorder and cockpit voice
recorder where the data will be downloaded and analyzed," said Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Rajendra Kumar K.C.It was initially
suggested the black boxes be taken to France where the aircraft was manufactured, but Nepalese authorities now plan to send the recorders to
Singapore.A committee formed by the government is still looking into the cause of the Yeti Airlines flight crash.Rescuers are combing the
hillside for the remains of two people still missing since the crash Jan
15 at the resort town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.The twin-engine ATR 72-500 aircraft was
approaching Pokhara International Airport in the Himalayan foothills when it plummeted into a gorge about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the
runway at an elevation of about 820 meters (2,700 feet).While it's still not clear what caused the crash, some aviation experts say video
taken from the ground of the plane's last moments indicated it went into a stall, although it's unclear why.It was carrying 68 passengers,
including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members
The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.Nepal's
Civil Aviation Authority has also said the airport's instrument landing system will not be working until Feb
26 - eight weeks after the airport began operations on Jan
1.Aviation safety experts have said the absence reflects the poor air safety record in Nepal, where mountainous terrain and the resulting
variable weather conditions make flying difficult.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com