COMMERCIAL TURBO PROP AIRCRAFT CRASHES, NO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001665 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2016 TAGS: EAIR CASC NP SUBJECT: COMMERCIAL TURBO PROP AIRCRAFT CRASHES, NO AMERICANS ON BOARD NINE NEPALIS DIE IN BOTCHED LANDING -------------- ¶1. (C) On June 21, a Yeti Airlines DeHavilland DH-6 Twin Otter aircraft crashed in a failed landing attempt at the remote Jumla airport in western Nepal killing all nine Nepalis on board. Mohan Adhikari, Officiating Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), explained to Emboff that the DH-6 aircraft was on a normal approach pattern to land, but because the plane was traveling too fast it overflew the runway. The plane then attempted a sharp turn to circle and land at the runway in the opposite direction. Before the plane could complete the turn it crashed into a hill 500 meters from the runway. Adhikari said that at the time of the crash the weather was good and the wind was very light. He speculated that the pilot may have attempted the sharp turn in order to land before another plane that was approximately three minutes behind the Yeti Airlines flight. Adhikari suggested that the cause of the crash was "human error" and that the pilot might not have followed standard operating procedures. He explained that a five-member investigation committee was already looking into the details of the crash; three of the five were from the Attorney General's Office, the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (the national air carrier),and CAAN. ¶2. (C) Adhikari said the Canadian-made Twin Otter aircraft had been in service with Yeti Airlines for 27 years, but he did not know the exact manufacture date. Mukunda Jawalanand, a Section Officer at CAAN, explained to Emboff that the pilot had over 17,000 hours of flight time. The last five plane crashes in Nepal since 2000 have all been Twin Otter aircraft. Adhikari opined that these crashes had more to do with Nepal's challenging topography than with any problems with the Twin Otter aircraft. MORIARTY