Plane crashes at Nepal's Kathmandu airport

[Looper]

A plane has crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.



The plane, operated by US-Bangla, a Bangladeshi airline, veered off the runway while landing on Monday afternoon, causing a blaze.

The plane had 67 passengers and four crew on board, officials say. There are casualties but the number has not been confirmed.

Seventeen people on board have been rescued so far, the authorities say.

Photos and video posted on social media showed smoke rising from an airport runway.

The plane was identified in local media as S2-AGU, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, but this has not been officially confirmed.

The flight landed at TIA airport, also known as Kathmandu International Airport, at 14:20 local time (08:35 GMT), according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

All flights in and out of the airport have been cancelled, the Kathmandu Post reports.

Plane crashes at Nepal's Kathmandu airport - BBC News

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400

Used to fly on those things with Qantas between Sydney and Canberra all the time.

Nepal must be the world capital of passenger aircraft accidents.

[taxexile]

this transcript, between the air traffic control at kathmandu airport and the doomed plane ,if accurate, makes extremely frightening reading.

2018-03-12 US Bangla DHC-8-400 crashed on landing Kathmandu12. März 2018by Jan Richterin Accident News, Generaltagged: DHC-8-400, Kathmandu, S2-AGU, US Bangla Airlines

Narrative.

The DHC-8 crashed on approach to Kathmandu Airport following much confusion over the approach landing runway between pilots and the tower controller. the number of casualties is yet unclear.


UPDATE SCT030 22/11 Q1015 NOSIG CB TO SE S AND SW=

Soundfile provided by LiveATC.net

ATC Radio Transcript Kathmandu-Tower:

(Note: this transcript is inofficial and can contain inadequate data)
BS211(female voice): „Good day, BanglaStar211 final runway 02.“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, tower. Wind 220 degrees eight knots, tailwind component seven knots, continue approach.“
BS211(female voice): „Continue approach BanglaStar 211.“
..
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, wind 220 degrees seven knots, talwind component six knots, you’re cleared to land.“
BS211(female voice): „Cleared to land, BanglaStar 211.“
..
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, tower?“
BS211(female voice): „Go ahead, sir.“
BS211(male voice): „Go ahead, mam‘.“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, you were given a landing clearance to runway 02.“
BS211(male voice): „Affirmative, mam.“
KTH-Tower: „You are going towards runway 20.“
BS211(male voice): „..(garbled transmission)..to runway 02.“
KTH-Tower (different voice): „…211, runway 20, cleared to land.“
BS211(male voice): „..cleared to land..(unintelligible).“
..
KTH-Tower (different voice): „BanglaStar211, Kathmandu Tower“
BS211(male voice): „Go ahead“
KTH-Tower (different voice): „BanglaStar211, request your intentions.“
BS211(male voice): „..(unintelligible)..“
KTH-Tower (different voice): “ BanglaStar211, that would be VFR.“
BS211(male voice): „Affirmative“
KTH-Tower (different voice): “ 211 join a ri…ehm..right downwind to runway 20.“
BS211(male voice): „Copied.“
KTH-Tower (different voice): “ …right downwind runway 02..“
..
Tower cleares another aircraft (Buddha282) to land on runway 02.
..
KTH-Tower: „And BanglaStar 211, traffic at final eh..runway 02 at two miles, report sighting.“
BS211(male voice): „Copied, Sir. We’ll be at (..) runway 02.“
KTH-Tower: „Confirm you’re tracking towards runway 20 ?“
BS211(male voice): „Affirmative.“
KTH-Tower: „Right..left, right downwind runway 02, I say again Bangla 212 traffic is on final runway 02 landing on runway 02.“
BS211(male voice): „Copied Sir“
..
Tower confirmed landing clearance for the other aircraft (Buddha282) to land on runway 02.
..
KTH-Tower: „211 I say it again, do not proceed towards runway 20. Cleared to hold at your current position.“
BS211(male voice): „Okay, we’re making an orbit to the right, copied ?“
BS211(male voice): „Tower, 211, making a right holding, right holding for runway 02.“
KTH-Tower: „Okay that’s good but do not land. Traffic is on short final runway 02.“
BS211(male voice): „We have that, Sir copied. (unintelligible) we’re cleared to land“
..
KTH-Tower: „..BanglaStar211, runway..eh..cleared to land. Runway is vacated, either runway 02 or 20 ?“
BS211(male voice): „Yes Siur, we like to land on 20.“
KTH-Tower: „Okay runway 20, cleared to land. Wind is 270 degrees, six knots.“
BS211(male voice): „260 copied, cleared to land.“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, confirm you have the runway in sight?“
BS211(male voice): „Negative, Sir.“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, turn right and ah..you have the runway, confirm you have the runway not in sight, yet ?“
BS211(male voice): „Affirmative, we have (..) runway in sight. Requesting clear to land, Sir.“
KTH-Tower: „And BanglaStar211, cleared to land.“
BS211(male voice): „Cleared to land runway 02, BanglaStar212.“
KTH-Tower: „Roger, ruway 02, cleared to land, BanglaStar211.“
..
BS211(male voice): „..sir, are we cleared to land ?“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, I say again..turn… (yelling in background).“
..
(end of BS211 transmissions)

Live ATC Traffic provided by
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[Mr Earl]

^wow that's pretty fucked up communication with the tower and aircraft.

[Troy]

For those that maybe confused by the above RWY 02 and 20 are the different ends of the same runway. It's also best to land into wind...

[Chittychangchang]

Dead before they even attempt the deadly Everest..

How many fatalities?

[taxexile]

^^


thanks for making that somewhat clearer troy, yes, 20 and 02 are in fact the same runway.

[aging one]

The inability to communicate in English seems to be like a likely cause to this one. With two pilots speaking from the plane it only compounds the problem. Then add a female in the cockpit of an airline of a strictly Muslim country...

[Troy]

^ I am guessing from that transmission that the ac was approaching from the Southern end and was going to track parallel to the runway before turning left onto the final approach to 02. The tower thought they were going straight in on 20. Possibly the tailwind on 02 means they should have switched ends for take off and landings earlier but it depends on weather forecast for the day.

[Looper]

Then add a female in the cockpit of an airline of a strictly Muslim country...

Hope they do not wear those slitty eyed head bags when behind the stick.

[wasabi]

This airport is considered one of the most difficult in the world to land in.

[Wilsonandson]

[cisco999]

The only thing missing is the weiners and marshmallows. They should have at least charged admission for all the gawkers.

[harrybarracuda]

"Unusual landing"..... Bit of an understatement.

"The aircraft was permitted to land from the southern side of the runway flying over Koteshwor, but it landed from the northern side," Sanjiv Gautam, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.
"We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing."
However, US-Bangla Airlines chief executive Imran Asif has blamed Kathmandu air traffic control.
"There were wrong directions from the tower. Our pilot was not at fault," he told reporters at his office in Dhaka.
Airport general manager Raj Kumar Chettri told Reuters news agency that the plane hit the airport fence before touching the ground.
The pilot told flight controllers that everything was OK soon before landing, but did not reply when told his alignment was not correct, he said.

Kathmandu airport crash: 49 dead as US-Bangla plane veers off runway - BBC News

[Latindancer]

What caused this crash was an excess of head wobble.

[Mr Earl]

^ I am guessing from that transmission that the ac was approaching from the Southern end and was going to track parallel to the runway before turning left onto the final approach to 02. The tower thought they were going straight in on 20. Possibly the tailwind on 02 means they should have switched ends for take off and landings earlier but it depends on weather forecast for the day.

Wind was reported 270 at 6 kts. with VFR conditions. They could've landed either direction no issues.
Sure sounds like some big time pilot error, especially with the screwy communications.

[OhOh]

Wind was reported 270 at 6 kts.

As you wind was immaterial.

A little cockpit confusion it appears, two voices and also the tower, two voices. Don't the pilots say that "Captain has control" thing?

[Mex]

This airport is considered one of the most difficult in the world to land in.

I have never been nervous of landing until this one....even more so in the twin prop to Everest.

[aging one]

1992 TG lost a flight there. Combination again of controller and pilot. Flew into a mountain at 11,000 feet. Same runway again... 02 and 20.

[Troy]

Wind was reported 270 at 6 kts. with VFR conditions. They could've landed either direction no issues.
Sure sounds like some big time pilot error, especially with the screwy communications.

Initially it was quoted as 220 8kts, tailwind 7kts onto 02. With a landing currently happening on 02 and air traffic possibly confusing wind direction (direction it's coming from) and runway direction (direction it is heading to)
Deleted...the more I read that transmission the more confused I get!

[harrybarracuda]

Initially it was quoted as 220 8kts, tailwind 7kts onto 02. With a landing currently happening on 02 and air traffic possibly confusing wind direction (direction it's coming from) and runway direction (direction it is heading to)
Deleted...the more I read that transmission the more confused I get!

Indeed, perhaps the screams from the passengers were drowning out the transmission.

S211(male voice): „Affirmative, we have (..) runway in sight. Requesting clear to land, Sir.“
KTH-Tower: „And BanglaStar211, cleared to land.“
BS211(male voice): „Cleared to land runway 02, BanglaStar212.“
KTH-Tower: „Roger, ruway 02, cleared to land, BanglaStar211.“
..
BS211(male voice): „..sir, are we cleared to land ?“
KTH-Tower: „BanglaStar211, I say again..turn… (yelling in background).“