As reported by The Aviation Herald, two weeks into the new year, we’re seeing our first major commercial aircraft crash of the year… ugh.
Yeti ATR-72 crashes on approach to Pokhara
This incident happened today (January 15, 2023) at roughly 11AM local time, and involves Yeti Airlines flight YT691, which was scheduled to operate a domestic 91-mile flight in Nepal, from Kathmandu (KTM) to Pokhara (PKR). The flight was operated by a roughly 16-year-old ATR-72 with the registration code 9N-ANC. For what it’s worth, the plane started flying for Yeti Airlines in 2019, and previously flew for Kingfisher Airlines and Nok Air.
While information is fairly limited as of now, the plane crashed while on approach to runway 12 at Pokhara International Airport. Specifically, the aircraft stalled, and then fell into a ravine and burst into flames, just over one nautical mile ahead of the runway threshold.
It’s believed that there were 69 passengers onboard, and so far 68 bodies have been recovered. Heartbreaking… may their souls rest in peace.
Below is some video footage you can see from the ground, showing the plane stalling, shortly before crashing (use your own discretion as to whether or not you want to see the video — it doesn’t show the actual point of impact, though).
Then below you can see some video footage of the crash site.
What caused this Yeti Airlines ATR-72 crash?
While we’ll have to wait for a full investigation to find out what happened, there is one interesting fact that immediately raises some eyebrows. The new Pokhara International Airport opened on January 1, 2023, replacing the city’s previous domestic airport.
The Yeti Airlines ATR-72 crashed between the two airports, so one has to wonder if the new airport having recently opened was a factor here. Yeti Airlines pilots are incredibly familiar with Nepal’s airports and approach procedures, given how frequently they fly between them. At a minimum, I think it’s safe to say that this particular approach was a fairly new one for them, given that the airport had just opened two weeks earlier.
Based on looking at the video, I can’t help but notice that the engines weren’t making very much noise (they appear to be near idle), and that the flaps didn’t seem to be fully down for landing. How that factors into what happened remains to be seen.
While Nepal can be an incredibly dangerous place to fly, due to the terrain and rapidly evolving weather, the reports from this morning show that conditions were quite good in Pokhara.
For those not familiar with the airline, Yeti Airlines was founded in 1998, and operated a fleet of five ATR-72 aircraft (now four). Yeti Airlines has a mixed safety record. Between 2004 and 2008, the airline had three separate fatal crashes. Since then, the airline has only had a couple of runway excursions, neither of which caused any serious injuries.
Bottom line
A Yeti Airlines ATR-72 crashed while on approach to Pokhara Airport today. The weather conditions were good, though the plane seemed to stall, causing it to crash a bit over a mile short of the runway. Interestingly Pokhara just transitioned airports a couple of weeks ago, as the city closed its old domestic airport and opened its new international airport.
My thoughts are with all of those onboard and their families. What an awful tragedy.
What do you make of this Yeti Airlines crash?
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