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Yeti Airlines Flight 691

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Yeti Airlines Flight 691 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight flown by Yeti Airlines from Kathmandu to Pokhara in Nepal. On 15 January 2023, an ATR 72, the aircraft being operated on the route, stalled and crashed while landing at Pokhara killing all 68 passengers and 4 crew members on board.

Yeti Airlines Flight 691
Flight 691 shortly before crashing, seen entering a stall
Accident
Date15 January 2023
SummaryStalled and crashed during approach due to accidental feathering of propellers[1]
SitePokhara International Airport, Pokhara, Nepal
28°11′51″N 83°59′06″E / 28.19750°N 83.98500°E / 28.19750; 83.98500[2]
Aircraft

9N-ANC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in May 2022
Aircraft typeATR 72-500
OperatorYeti Airlines
IATA flight No.YT691
ICAO flight No.NYT691
Call signYETI AIRLINES 691
Registration9N-ANC
Flight originTribhuvan International Airport
DestinationPokhara International Airport
Occupants72
Passengers68
Crew4
Fatalities72
Survivors0

Accident

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Rescue workers at the wreckage of 9N-ANC
External videos
  Last moments of Flight 691, filmed from the ground.[3]
  Video of livestream of the crash from inside the aircraft by Sonu Jaiswal[4]

The flight took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am NST.[5] It crashed on the bank of the Seti Gandaki River while on final approach to landing at Pokhara International Airport.[6] A video filmed from the ground showed the aircraft banking steeply to the left before crashing 65 metres (213 ft) away.[7][3][8] Another video of the crash was streamed live on Facebook from inside the plane by a passenger, Sonu Jaiswal, showing that the passengers were unaware of the situation until seconds before impact.[9][10]

The crash occurred in Gandaki Province between the old Pokhara Airport and the new Pokhara International Airport, which was opened two weeks earlier and also where the aircraft was intending to land.[11][12] The accident resulted in the deaths of all 72 people on board,[13] and was Nepal's worst aviation accident since the crash of Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 in 1992,[14] the deadliest aviation accident in Nepalese domestic aviation,[15] and the deadliest accident involving an ATR 72.[16]

According to an official at the Pokhara International Airport, air traffic control cleared the flight to land on runway 30 heading from east to west, but the captain requested the opposing runway 12 heading from west to east, minutes before the crash. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 noted that during the flight the aircraft had been transmitting inaccurate speed and altitude data.[17]

Aircraft

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9N-ANC, the aircraft involved in the accident, in November 2022

The aircraft involved, manufactured in 2007, was a 15-year-old twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500 registered as 9N-ANC with serial number 754. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M engines.[18][1]: 21–22 

Passengers and crew

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There were 72 people on board, of which 68 were passengers and four were crew members.[19][20] Among the passengers were 37 men, 25 women, and six children, three of whom were infants.[21] Seventy-one bodies were found.[22] On 17 January, authorities began returning the victims' bodies (the majority of which were burnt beyond recognition) to their families.[23][24] The United States Department of State announced that two U.S. citizens died in the crash,[25] although Nepalese authorities did not report any American deaths.[26]

The plane was under the command of senior captain Kamal KC with Anju Khatiwada as copilot. Khatiwada's husband, Dipak Pokhrel, who also worked for Yeti Airlines, died in the 2006 Yeti Airlines Twin Otter crash. Khatiwada was set to qualify as a captain upon the successful completion of the flight.[27]

Passengers and crew by nationality
Nationality Passengers Crew Total Ref.
Nepal 53 4 57 [28]
India 5 0 5 [29]
Russia 4 0 4 [30]
South Korea 2 0 2 [31]
Argentina 1 0 1 [32]
Australia 1 0 1 [33]
France 1 0 1 [34]
United Kingdom 1 0 1 [35]
Total 68 4 72

Aftermath

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The wreckage of 9N-ANC from another angle

The airport was closed as authorities launched a rescue operation.[36] The Government of Nepal summoned an emergency cabinet meeting following the crash. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was deeply saddened by the tragic accident.[21] The Office of the Prime Minister declared 16 January to be a national day of mourning, and the flag of Nepal was flown at half-staff.[37] Yeti Airlines cancelled all regular flights scheduled for the day.[21]

Investigation

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From left to right: Parking brake, power, condition, and flaps levers on the centre pedestal of an ATR 72

Experts noted that the video from the ground taken moments before the crash showed the aircraft's nose noticeably high before the left wing suddenly dropped, probably indicating a stall.[38] Hours after the crash, a five-member committee headed by Nagendra Ghimire was set up to investigate the accident in conjunction with the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.[39]

On 16 January, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were found;[40] the recorders were examined in Singapore and with assistance from Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, and Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore.[41][42]

Preliminary report

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About a month later, on 13 February, a preliminary report was released, which largely reproduced all relevant logs.

(PF = Pilot Flying, PM = Pilot Monitoring):[43]

At 10:56:27, the PF disengaged the Autopilot System (AP) at an altitude of 721 feet (220 m) Above Ground Level (AGL). The PF then called for "FLAPS 30" at 10:56:32, and the PM replied, "Flaps 30 and descending". The flight data recorder (FDR) data did not record any flap surface movement at that time. Instead, the propeller rotation speed (Np) of both engines decreased simultaneously to less than 25% and the torque (Tq) started decreasing to 0%, which is consistent with both propellers going into the feathered condition [...]

The flight crew then carried out the "Before Landing Checklist" before starting the left turn onto the base leg. During that time, the power lever angle increased from 41% to 44%. At this point, the Np of both propellers was recorded as Non-Computed Data (NCD) in the FDR and the torque (Tq) of both engines was at 0%. When propellers are in feather, they are not producing thrust [...]

At 10:56:54, another click was heard, followed by the flaps surface movement to the 30 degrees position [...]

When ATC gave the clearance for landing at 10:57:07, the PF mentioned twice that there was no power coming from the engines. At 10:57:11, the power levers were advanced first to 62 degrees then to the maximum power position. At 10:57:20, the PM (who was previously the PF) repeated again that there was no power from the engines [...]

The aircraft's propellers had been feathered for about a minute before the crash, causing the engine to produce no thrust and lead the aircraft into a stall; the condition levers, which control the propellers, were discovered from the wreckage set to the feathered position.[44][a] Seconds preceding the crash, the pilots discussed a total lack of power and even moved the power lever to the extreme but failed to recognize that the condition levers were incorrectly set.[43] The condition levers and the flap lever are next to each other in an ATR 72; experts speculate that the monitoring pilot (Kamal KC) had inadvertently moved the former in place of the latter, when asked of by the flying pilot. While, about twenty seconds later, he would set the flap lever properly on his own, he failed to account for his previous mistake, implying that the landing checklist was not properly followed.[44][46]

Due to the shortened final approach leg for runway 12 for this flight and another flight three days before it that landed on the same runway, the stabilization criteria for a visual approach, which is important for a safe landing, was not met at the height of 500 feet (150 m) above ground level. This led the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission to recommend the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) conduct a comprehensive study for the determination of an appropriate flight path that allows a stabilized visual approach.[43]

On 15 March, the Government of Nepal extended the deadline by 45 days to the investigation commission for the final report of the accident.[47]

Final report

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On 28 December 2023, the final report was released. It reiterated the preliminary findings that the accidental change of position of both condition levers to the feathered position resulted in the loss of thrust, leading to the aerodynamic stall and crash. Some other contributing factors are also found, mostly human errors due to a high workload, lack of appropriate technical and skill-based training, ineffective crew resource management (CRM), lack of sterile cockpit discipline, and the non-compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP).[1][48]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Feathering is to be only done in flight after an engine failure, to minimise drag caused by windmilling;[45] however, neither did the flight data recorder identify anything amiss with the engine nor did the pilot report anything relevant to ATC.[44][28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Final Report on the accident of ATR72/212A version 500 (Registration:9N-ANC) that occurred on January 15, 2023 near Pokhara International Airport" (PDF). 28 December 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Nepal crash: Dozens killed as plane crashes near Pokhara airport". BBC News. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Bhandari, Shashwat (15 January 2023). "Nepal: Moment when Yeti Airlines plane tilted mid-air before it crashed near Pokhara Airport". India TV. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ^ Mateen, Zoya. "Nepal air crash: Indian passenger's video caught plane's last moments". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ Saha, Poulomi; Jha, Sujeet (15 January 2023). "Nepal plane with 72 onboard crashed seconds before landing at Pokhara airport, all dead". India Today. New Delhi. ISSN 0254-8399. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023. A passenger plane carrying about 72 people from Nepal's capital Kathmandu crashed in Pokhara today.
  6. ^ "Nepal Plane Crash Updates: At least 40 bodies recovered from Nepal crash". Hindustan Times. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ^ Bohora, Diwas (14 January 2023). I watched this terrible crash from my balcony. RIP #rip #planecrash Yeti airlines flight YT691. Channel D [@channeld4641] – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Sud, Vedika (15 January 2023). "Video appears to show plane rolling on its side before crash in Nepal" (video). CNN. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023. A video clip on social media appears to show the moments before an aircraft operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines crashed in the Nepali city of Pokhara leaving dozens dead.
  9. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah; Hassan, Aakash (16 January 2023). "Nepal plane crash: last moments inside cabin caught on passenger's Facebook live video". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Long wait for family of Indian whose Nepal crash video went viral". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Pokhara takes off". Nepali Times. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  12. ^ Pokharel, Santosh (22 December 2022). "Pokhara's Old Airport to Remain Functional as CAAN Prepares to Launch Int'l Airport". República. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  13. ^ Prasai, Sangam; Pietsch, Bryan; Kasulis Cho, Kelly (16 January 2023). "'No survivors' in Nepal plane crash, official says". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ^ "What you need to know about Nepal's plane crash". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  15. ^ "In a disastrous state". Nepali Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  16. ^ "ATR 72". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  17. ^ Petchenik, Ian (15 January 2023). "Yeti Airlines flight 691 crashes near Pokhara". Flightradar24 Blog. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Nepal: Passenger plane crashes on runway of Pokhara Airport, five Indians onboard". mint. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  19. ^ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman (15 January 2023). "40 bodies recovered as plane with 72 people on board crashes in Nepal". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  20. ^ Hradecky, Simon (15 January 2023). "Crash: Yeti AT72 at Pokhara on Jan 15th 2023, lost height on final approach". The Aviation Herald. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  21. ^ a b c Thapa, Asha; Magramo, Kathleen; Pokharel, Sugam (17 January 2023). "At least 68 killed in Nepal's worst airplane crash in 30 years". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Rescuers recover 71 bodies from Yeti Airlines plane crash site". The Kathmandu Post.
  23. ^ Bhattarai, Anish; Pathi, Krutika (17 January 2023). "Families mourn Nepal plane victims, data box sent to France". AP News. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  24. ^ Bacon, John; Ortiz, Jorge L. (16 January 2023). "'We pray for a miracle': Black boxes, 69th body found after Nepal plane crash; what we know". USA Today. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  25. ^ Seyler, Matt. "2 American citizens killed in Nepal plane crash". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  26. ^ Varley, Len (16 January 2023). "Nepal crash: Nepal authorities release passenger list, black box recovered". AviationSource News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Nepal Plane Crash: Co-Pilot Of Ill-Fated Flight Anju Khatiwada Was To Get Pilot Licence After Landing". ABP Live. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  28. ^ a b Vaidyanathan, Rajini (16 January 2023). "Nepal plane crash: Pilot didn't report anything untoward, official says". BBC News. Pokhara. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023. The pilot of the flight that crashed in Nepal did not report 'anything untoward' as the plane approached the airport, a spokesman said.
  29. ^ "No Survivors Found After Nepal Plane Crashed With 72, 5 Of Them Indians". NDTV. Asian News International. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Обнародованы имена погибших в Непале россиян" [Names of Russians killed in Nepal revealed]. Vesti.ru (in Russian). 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  31. ^ "네팔 여객기 추락 사망자 68명…한국인 2명 생존 확인 안 돼" [68 dead in Nepal airliner crash 2 Koreans not confirmed alive]. SBS News (in Korean). 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Era de Neuquén la argentina que murió en el accidente de avión en Nepal" [The Argentine who died in the plane crash in Nepal was from Neuquén]. Diario Rio Negro (in Spanish). 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  33. ^ Meacham, Savannah (16 January 2023). "Sydney teacher believed to be victim in horror Nepal plane crash". 9NEWS. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  34. ^ Allemand, Damien (16 January 2023). "Un Français parmi les victimes du crash d'un avion au Népal, au moins 67 morts" [A Frenchman among the victims of the plane crash in Nepal, at least 67 dead]. nice matin (in French). Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  35. ^ "Nepal plane crash: Briton among dozens who died". BBC News. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023. A British man is among the passengers who died in a plane crash in Nepal on Sunday. The person was previously described as Irish by Nepal authorities, but was understood to be traveling on a UK passport. He has not yet been formally named by authorities.
  36. ^ "At Least 29 Dead In Nepal As Passenger Plane With 72 Persons Onboard Crashes At Pokhara Airport". ABP Live. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Nepal plane crash: Rescuers resume search as day of mourning observed". Sky News. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023. Nepal has declared Monday a day of mourning after its deadliest plane crash since 1992. Meanwhile, it has emerged the model of plane has been involved in several fatal accidents over the years.
  38. ^ Rising, David (16 January 2023). "Explainer: Why did Nepal plane crash in fair weather?". AP News. Bangkok. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  39. ^ "French expert team begins probe into Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara". The Indian Express. Kathmandu. Press Trust of India. 18 January 2023. OCLC 70274541. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  40. ^ "Black box and cockpit voice recorder from plane that crashed in Nepal found". Sky News. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023. The devices are believed to be in good condition and it is hoped they will be able to help investigators determine why the plane came down.
  41. ^ "Nepal plane crash: Flight recorders to be examined in Singapore". CNA. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  42. ^ "Black boxes from Nepal plane crash to be sent to Singapore". apnews.com. Associated Press. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  43. ^ a b c "PRELIMINARY ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT OF 9N-ANC (ATR 72-212A, MSN: 754) Aircraft OPERATED BY YETI AIRLINES PVT LTD OCCURRED AT POKHARA (at the bank of Seti River - Gharipatan), KASKI DISTRICT, NEPAL ON 15 JANUARY 2023" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  44. ^ a b c "Nepal plane crash preliminary report: Investigators suspect human error". The Hindu. 17 February 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  45. ^ "Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C) | Chapter 13: Transition to Multiengine Airplanes" (PDF). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  46. ^ Nordal, Magnar. An unbelievable mistake | Yeti Airlines flight 691. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  47. ^ Pahari, Sara (15 March 2023). "Govt extends Yeti Air crash probe deadline by 45 days". myRepublica.
  48. ^ "Crash: Yeti AT72 at Pokhara on Jan 15th 2023, lost height on final approach, both propellers went into feather". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
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