On a Sunday in late May, a small Twin Otter carrying twenty-two people from Pokhara toward Jomsom was lost in the high country of Nepal's Mustang district, a reminder of how thin the margin is between a mountain flight and its ending. By Tuesday the last of those aboard had been brought down from the wreckage, and the black box had been recovered, so the questions that follow now belong to investigators rather than searchers. The early word points to weather, which in a land of steep ridges and shifting winds is both a plausible explanation and an old and familiar one. What remains to be seen
Nepal Army Confirms Recovery of All 22 Bodies From Tara Air Crash Site in Mustang; Black Box Retrieved
All 22 people aboard the Tara Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom were killed, including four Indians, three Japanese, two Germans, and three Nepali crew members.
None survived: four Indians, three Japanese, two Germans and three Nepali crew.
Mark
All 22 bodies are recovered now. Why does that detail matter so much?
Mimi
Because it closes the first stage. Twenty-one were found by Monday night, then weather stopped the work, and the last was found Tuesday morning. Twelve bodies still had to be brought to Kathmandu.
Mark
And the black box was retrieved too. What does that give investigators?
Mimi
It's the main source they'll have for the cause. A five-member committee led by Ratish Chandra Lal Suman is tasked with finding it.
Luke
Careful, though. The report only says what a preliminary CAAN assessment concluded: weather was the main reason. That isn't the committee's finding.
Mark
Fair. And the former CAAN chief said weather could be behind it.
Luke
Right, and 'could be' is doing real work. Raj Kumar Chhetri is offering an informed view, not a finding. He's also a former official, not someone with access to the investigation.
Mimi
What's firm is the pattern around it. The 2016 crash involved the same airline and the same route, and it killed all 23 aboard.
Luke
Which is context, not proof of a shared cause. Nothing here says the two crashes are linked.
Mark
So what's still unknown?
Luke
The actual cause, what the black box shows, and whether anything changes in Nepal's aviation safety as a result.
Der Puls
- A Tara Air Twin Otter carrying 22 people from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed in Mustang district on Sunday, and no one aboard survived.
- Recovery stalled Monday night when poor weather halted the search with 21 bodies found, forcing crews to wait for a window to finish the work.
- Army teams completed the recovery on Tuesday morning, and the black box was retrieved as the investigation moved into its next phase.
- A preliminary report from the Civil Aviation Authority points to bad weather, but a five-member committee led by senior aeronautical engineer Ratish Chandra Lal Suman must confirm the cause.
- With Nepal's history of deadly mountain and airport crashes weighing on the country, the black box analysis and committee findings will decide whether aviation safety rules change.
On a Sunday in late May, a small Twin Otter carrying twenty-two people from Pokhara toward Jomsom was lost in the high country of Nepal's Mustang district, a reminder of how thin the margin is between a mountain flight and its ending. By Tuesday the last of those aboard had been brought down from the wreckage, and the black box had been recovered, so the questions that follow now belong to investigators rather than searchers. The early word points to weather, which in a land of steep ridges and shifting winds is both a plausible explanation and an old and familiar one. What remains to be seen is whether the careful study of this one loss will change how the sky over these mountains is kept.
By Tuesday, the last of the 22 people killed in the Tara Air crash in Nepal's Mustang district had been found. The Nepal Army confirmed that every body had been recovered from the wreckage, and the aircraft's black box had been retrieved with them.
The recovery took two days and was shaped by the mountains. By Monday night searchers had located 21 bodies, then were forced to stop because of poor weather. They resumed on Tuesday morning and found the final body. Army spokesperson Brigadier General Narayan Silwal announced the completion, and arrangements were made to bring the remaining bodies to Kathmandu, where personnel were photographed carrying a victim to an ambulance.
The aircraft was a Canadian-built Twin Otter operated by Tara Air, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom when it crashed on Sunday. Among those aboard were four Indians, three Japanese and two Germans, along with three Nepali crew members. None survived.
The cause is not yet settled. A preliminary report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal points to bad weather, and a five-member government committee led by Ratish Chandra Lal Suman will determine the exact cause. Former aviation chief Raj Kumar Chhetri noted that Nepal's terrain of high hills and changing winds makes flying difficult in low visibility.
Nepal has a long record of such tragedies, including a 2016 crash of the same airline on the same route and deadly accidents in Kathmandu in 2012 and 2018. What comes next depends on the black box and the committee's findings, which will reveal whether weather alone explains this crash and whether the way Nepal manages mountain flights must change.
By Tuesday, the last of the 22 people killed in the Tara Air crash in Nepal's Mustang district had been found. The Nepal Army said all the bodies had been recovered from the wreckage site, and that officials had also retrieved the aircraft's black box.
The recovery took two days. By Monday night, searchers had located 21 bodies, but the work was halted because of poor weather. It resumed on Tuesday morning, and the final body was found. Army spokesperson Brigadier General Narayan Silwal announced it in a tweet, saying the last body had been recovered and that arrangements were being made to bring the remaining 12 bodies from the crash site to Kathmandu. At an airport in Kathmandu, army personnel were photographed carrying a victim's body to an ambulance.
The aircraft was a Canadian-built Twin Otter turboprop, registered 9N-AET, operated by Tara Air. It was flying from Pokhara to Jomsom when it crashed on Sunday. Twenty-two people were aboard. The passengers included four Indians, three Japanese and two Germans, and there were three Nepali crew members. None survived.
The cause has not been established. A preliminary report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal points to bad weather as the main factor. The government has formed a five-member committee, headed by senior aeronautical engineer Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, to determine the exact cause.
Raj Kumar Chhetri, a former director general of the aviation authority, told the news agency PTI that adverse weather on Sunday could be the reason behind the accident. He described Nepal's terrain as mostly high hills and mountains, with wind and weather patterns that change continuously, making it hard for planes to maneuver around high ground, especially in low visibility.
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, Everest among them, and it has a long record of air accidents. In 2016, a plane of the same airline, flying the same route, crashed after takeoff and killed all 23 people aboard. In March 2018, a US-Bangla Air crash at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu killed 51 people. In September 2012, a Sita Air flight crashed while making an emergency landing at the same airport, killing 19.
What happens next rests with the black box and the five-member committee. Their findings will show whether weather alone explains Sunday's crash, and whether anything about how Nepal manages flights in its mountain corridors needs to change.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The last dead body has been recovered. Arranging to bring the remaining 12 dead bodies from the crash site to Kathmandu.— Brigadier General Narayan Silwal, Nepal Army spokesperson
The adverse weather on Sunday could be the reason behind the accident.— Raj Kumar Chhetri, former Director General of CAAN, to PTI
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