![]() DHC-6 9N-ABM of Tara Airlines, similar to the one that crashed | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 24 February 2016 |
Summary | Under investigation |
Site | Dana, Myagdi district, Nepal |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 built by Viking Air |
Operator | Tara Air |
Registration | 9N-AHH |
Flight origin | Pokhara Airport, Pokhara |
Destination | Jomsom Airport, Jomsom |
Passengers | 20 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 23 (all) |
Survivors | 0 |
Tara Air Flight 193 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight, serving the route from Pokhara Airport in Pokhara, Nepal, to Jomsom Airport in Jomsom. On 24 February 2016, 10 minutes after take off, the aircraft, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter registration 9N-AHH, went missing with 23 people on board.[1][2][3]
Nepal's police and army dispatched three helicopters to search the missing plane. Hours later, the wreckage was found near Dana village, Myagdi district, alongside charred bodies. Among 23 people onboard the aircraft, none survived.[4]
Aircraft
The DHC-6 Twin Otter was built in 2012 with manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 926. The aircraft was previously registered with tailcode C-GUVT.[5] In September 2015, it was later delivered to Tara Air and re-registered 9N-AHH.[6][5][7]
Passengers
Of the 20 passengers aboard, 18 – including two children[8] – were from Nepal, one was from Hong Kong, and another from Kuwait.[9]
Country | Passengers | Crew | Total |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
18 | 3 | 21 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 20 | 3 | 23 |
Crash
The aircraft took off from Pokhara at 7:50 am local time. The normal flight duration of the route is 18 minutes. It lost contact with the control tower at Pokhara 10 minutes after takeoff,[9] and was found crashed at Tirkhe Dhunga, Dana VDC of Myagdi district at 1:25 pm by a police team deployed from Dana Police Post.[8] Tara Air reported that the weather at both origin and destination airports was favourable.
Recovery
Helicopters scoured the route for hours, but rescue efforts were slowed down by poor weather conditions, including dense fog.[10] The wreckage was found burning after impacting a mountain side, with charred bodies visible inside.[11] Bishwa Raj Khadka, the district Chief of Police,[12] stated that personnel involved in the rescue operations have recovered 17 bodies from the crash site.[13]
Investigation
A "high level probe panel" is being formed to investigate the crash.[2] Ananda Prasad Pokharel, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation said that the wreckage of the plane was found in a completely burnt state, “in an area of some 200 meters [660 feet]”,[14] in Solighopte in Myagdi District, a part of Dhaulagiri Zone.[15][16]
See also
References
- ^ "Missing Tara Air plane with 23 onboard could have crashed in Myagdi's Rupse". The Kathmandu Post. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ a b Hradecky, Simon (24 February 2016). "Accident: Tara DHC6 near Pokhara on Feb 24th 2016, aircraft missing enroute". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Plane crash feared in Nepal as flight carrying 21 goes missing in mountains". The Guardian. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Missing Nepal Tara Air passenger plane 'found crashed in jungle' amid fears no one survived". 24 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Aircraft Registration Database Lookup". Airframes.org. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "2016-02-24 Tara Air Twin Otter crashed in Myagdi District, Nepal". JACDEC. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400 9N-AHH Dana, Myagdi district". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ a b "23 confirmed dead in Myagdi plane crash". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Nepal small passenger plane wreckage found". BBC News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Nepal plane crash: Tara Air plane goes down, 23 feared dead". CNN. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Nepal plane crash: All 23 on board killed as Tara Air flight crashes into Himalayan mountain". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Missing Tara Air plane found crashed in Myagdi (UPDATE)". Setopati. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "All 23 onboard Tara Air dead, 17 bodies recovered". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Chances of finding Tara Air passengers alive slim: Nepal Army". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Wreckage of plane carrying 23 people found in Nepal". The Guardian. 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Missing Nepal Tara Air passenger plane 'found crashed in jungle'". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2016.