Investigators begin Nepal crash probe

Published on 01/10/2012 00:00

InvestigatORs are looking into the cause of a plane crash in Nepal which claimed the lives of 19 passengers, including seven Britons.

The Dornier twin-engine propeller plane crashed two minutes after take-off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday morning, killing everyone on board.

Initial reports suggested a bird strike was to blame, but the Nepalese aviation ministry is reported to have said it believes pilot error lay behind the ­tragedy.

Officials are investigating a theory that the plane was overloaded with both people and baggage, and that when the plane hit a bird the pilot didn’t have enough speed to turn around and make an emergency landing, according to reports.

Two staff from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch have gone to Nepal to assist local authorities probing the disaster.

The group of British travellers who died in the crash arrived in Nepal on Wednesday and were due to begin trekking in the Himalayas on Friday. They were travelling with Hampshire-based Explore Worldwide.

Darren Kelly, 45, from the Isle of Whithorn, in Wigtownshire, was one of the victims.