Accident description
languages:
| Status: | Preliminary |
| Date: | 08 OCT 2008 |
| Time: | 07:31 |
| Type: | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 |
| Operator: | Yeti Airlines |
| Registration: | 9N-AFE |
| C/n / msn: | 720 |
| First flight: | 1980 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 16 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 18 / Occupants: 19 |
| Airplane damage: | Destroyed |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) (Nepal)
 |
| Phase: | Landing (LDG) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM/VNKT), Nepal |
| Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA/VNLK), Nepal |
The aircraft took off from Kathmandu Airport at 06.51 on a domestic flight to Lukla (LUA). Lukla Airport has a single runway, 06/24 which is situated at an elevation of 9380 feet. The 1600 feet long bitumen runway has an upslope of 11,75°. Runway 06 can only be used for landing.
Visibility was reported as poor as the Twin Otter came in to land. It contacted rocks near the runway, crashed and caught fire. The captain was the only survivor.
According to a member of the government investigating panel, "The crew made incorrect judgment of information on deteriorating weather condition and flew the aircraft into a patch of cloud."
Sources:
» Yeti Airlines
» Nepalnews
» Hemant Arjyal
» Pilot blamed for air crash near Everest (The Age, 1-1-2009)
Photos
9N-AFE pictured here just two weeks before the accident
Video/animation
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM/VNKT) to Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA/VNLK) as the crow flies is 134 km (84 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
Distance from Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM/VNKT) to Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA/VNLK) as the crow flies is 134 km (84 miles).
