Sita Air Crash in Nepal

Nineteen passengers including three crew members were killed after the Dornier Aircraft 9N-AHA of Sita Air crashed just a kilometer far from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu this morning. The plane was en-route to Lukla from TIA, Kathmandu.

The names or nationalities of the victims could not be ascertained immediately, but it is learnt that there were seven Nepali passengers and 12 foreigners. The aircraft crashed near the bank of the Manohara River in Kathmandu within a few minutes of its take off after air controller office of TIA gave a signal.

So far, only the crew members have been identified as pilot Bijay Tandukar, co-pilot Takesi Thapa and air-hostess Ruja Shakya, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jaya Bahadur Chand who is at the crash site.

Staffs of the Sita Air have their saying that the crash may be due to ‘on air fire or it could be struck to a bird’ on air while it was taking a height.

The front part of the aircraft was totally burnt down and only the tail is remaining safe, said SSP Chand. Seven fire engines were deployed to douse off the fire that set ablaze on the plane after crash. Police were currently taking out the bodies of the deceased passengers.

This is the sixth time a Dornier Aircraft has crashed in Nepal. Few months ago, Agni Air took the lives of 15 people at the Jomsom Airport in Mustang district, Nepal. Nowadays, plane crashes have been frequent in Nepal because of increased air traffic, pilot’s faults and bad weather.

May the Departed Soul rest in Peace!!!

Latest Update:
The Sita Air passenger list identifies the Nepali passengers as Mrs MK Tamang, Mr LN Sherpa, Mr D Rai and and Mr Kumar Moktan including pilot Bijay Tandukar, co-pilot Takesi Thapa and flight attendant Ruja Shakya who were the members of the crew.

Nepal Police, on the other hand, identified as the seventh Nepali national as Kumar Moktan. He is said to be a Nepal Army soldier.

The Sita Air identified the seven British passengers as Mr R Eagle, Mr C Davey, Mr V Kelly, Mr D Kelly, Mr T Oakes, Mr S Holdings, Mr B Ogden.

Likewise, four Chinese passengers are identifies as Mr Mingwu Qian, M Lin WU, Ms Zhihua Yang, Ms Chen Yang and 1 American Wu Hui of Chinese origin.

Student Wu Hui, 27, of California, was named among five Chinese dead in the crash, but Sita Air said his passport recovered at the crash site revealed he was an American of Chinese origin.

“One American citizen of Chinese origin was among the 12 foreigners who died in the Sita Air crash,” Sita Air spokesman Deependra Shahi said.

Though the weather was clear in the morning, the pilot had reported some problems to the air controller after two minutes of the take-off, TIA’s General Manager Ratish Chandra Lal Suman said. According to him, the plane probably was trying to get back to the airport before meeting with the fatal accident.

Moreover, the Nepal Police and Nepal Army personnel, and fire brigade rushed to the crash for rescue operation. However, all the people on board the ill-flated plane had already died when the fire was contained. The fire gutted the plane’s body except its rare wing.