US-Bangla says, it finds ‘inconsistencies’ in Nepal’s plane crash probe report
KATHMANDU, April 23: The US-Bangla Airline authorities have claimed that they have found “inconsistencies” in the initial probe report provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal on its aircraft crash at the Tribhuvan International Airport on March 12, according to Dhaka Tribune.
The 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft, heading to Kathmandu from Dhaka, had crashed in a field near the Tribhuvan International Airport killing 50 people– one of the deadliest aviation accidents in decades. The aircraft was carrying 71 people including four crew members.
Among the deceased, 27 were Bangladeshis, including all four crew members, 22 Nepali and one Chinese citizen.
A six-member probe team was formed in order to investigate into the crash—after the flight data recorder from the charred wreckage of the plane showed apparent confusion between the pilot and air traffic control over the runway approach moments before the plane crash-landed at the TIA.
The civil aviation authorities provided the report one month after the tragic plane crash.
“In the report, it was claimed that the authorities concerned of Nepal started extinguishing the fire two minutes after the plane crash, but after speaking to witnesses and injured victims, we learnt that the number of causalities could have been lower had the Nepal authorities started their work within two minutes of the accident,” said US-Bangla Airlines CEO Asif Kabir, as reported by the Tribune.
Kabir added that they do not completely reject the report but that are some “inconsistencies” in the report, the Tribune further wrote.
Asif said in the initial report, they could not reach a conclusion over the disruption in the conversation between the pilot of the plane and the air traffic control tower at Tribhuvan airport, according to the Tribune.
The US-Bangla Airlines authorities also raised questions over the transfer of six air traffic officers stationed at the airport traffic control tower after the incident.
“We hope the final probe report will be fair and reveal the reason behind the crash,” Kabir added.