Pilot error has been blamed for the May 14 plane crash in northern Nepal that killed 15 people, including 13 Indian pilgrims.
The Dornier 9N AIG aircraft belonging to the private carrier Agni Air with 21 people on board crashed on the Jomsom—Pokhara route after hitting a hill top while attempting to land at the high—altitude Jomsom airport. Six others, including three Indians and two Danish nationals, miraculously survived the crash.
A probe committee led by Medini Prasad Sharma, former director—general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, has blamed the “disaster on judgemental error on the part of the pilot—in—command due to stress“.
The report, submitted to Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Post Bahadur Boga, said the probable cause of the accident was spur of the moment, execution of the left turn by the pilot in command with the intention to return to Pokhara without considering the required radius of turn and the surrounding terrain.
Two other causes identified by the report were inadequate flying hours of the pilot in command with the Dornier aircraft and flying under stress.
The passengers were going towards Muktinath, a famous Hindu and Buddhist pilgrim site when the accident occurred.
The aircraft had taken off from famous tourist hub Pokhara and was supposed to land in Jomsom, about 200 km northwest of the capital.
