1975 Royal Nepal Airlines Pilatus PC-6 Porter crash

On 31 March 1975, a Pilatus PC-6 Porter (registration number 9N-AAZ, and serial number 727),[2] operated by Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Nepal en route from Tribhuvan International Airport to Phaplu Airport on a domestic charter flight. The flight was chartered by Sir Edmund Hillary to bring his wife Louise and daughter Belinda to Phaplu, where he was building a hospital.[3] The plane crashed shortly after takeoff.[4]

1975 Royal Nepal Airlines Pilatus PC-6 Porter crash
A Pilatus PC-6 Porter, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date31 March 1975
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteBoudhanath, Kathmandu Nepal[1]
Aircraft
Aircraft typePilatus PC-6 Porter
OperatorRoyal Nepal Airlines
Registration9N-AAZ
Flight originTribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
DestinationPhaplu Airport, Phaplu, Nepal
Passengers4
Crew1
Survivors0

Aircraft

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The aircraft involved in the crash was a Pilatus PC-6 Porter operated by Royal Nepal Airlines. It was delivered to Royal Nepal Airlines in 1971.[5]

Crew and passengers

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All occupants on board died in the crash; they included the pilot Peter Shand, Sir Edmund Hillary's wife Louise and daughter Belinda, the family's dog and two Sherpa friends of the family.[4][6]

Accident

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The flight was a chartered flight, that took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at or before 7:30 a.m. NPT for its flight to Phaplu Airport. The aircraft took off on runway 20 in a southern direction, but the pilot directly asked for permission to land.[7] The aircraft turned towards the right but was unable to make a landing, crashing into a ditch behind the northern end of the runway.[3]

Aftermath

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In her biography Keeper of the Mountains, Elizabeth Hawley describes that the pilot Peter Shand did not do a walk-around,[3] failing to see that an aileron was still fixed by a ground lock pin, because he was late to the airport and this caused the accident.[7]

The Nepali Times reported that the pilot was hired by Royal Nepal Airlines despite losing his previous job due to "carelessness".[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Aviation Safety Report 2019" (PDF). Kathmandu: Civil Aviation Authority Nepal. p. 33. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  2. ^ "S/N 727". Pilatus Porter History. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c McDonald, Bernadette; Hillary, Sir Edmund (October 2012). Keeper of the Mountains. RMB. p. 113. ISBN 978-1927330159.
  4. ^ a b "Hillary's Kin Killed In Nepal Plane Crash". The New York Times. 1 April 1975. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. ^ "S/N 727". Pilatus Porter History. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. ^ Dillon, Michael (23 May 2003). "Sherpa Hillary". Nepali Times. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b Gill, Michael (24 September 2014). "'Dishevelled' pilot who caused Hillary tragedy should have been barred". Stuff. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. ^ Dixit, Kunda (18 July 2019). "Highs and lows of Sir Ed". Nepali Times. Retrieved 30 May 2020.