Radio chat from Nepal plane crash: Did minutes of confusion lead to plane crash?
Radio chat from Nepal plane crash: Minutes of confusion lead to crash
“I say again, turn!” the air traffic controller called over the radio as the flight from Bangladesh swerved low over the runway at Kathmandu’s airport.
Seconds later, the plane crashed with nothing but eruption of flames and taking lives of 49 people out of 71 on board.
Minutes of confusion between the control tower and the pilot of the US-Bangla passenger plane resulted in taking lives of many.
A separate radio conversation between the tower and at least one Nepali pilot reflected the sense of miscommunication.
“They appear to be extremely disoriented,” a man said in Nepali, watching as Flight BS211 made its approach, though it was not clear if the voice belonged to a pilot or the tower. “Looks like they are really confused,” said another man.
Just before landing, the pilot asked, “Are we cleared to land?”
Moments later, the controller came back on the air, his voice clearly anxious, and told the pilot, “I say again, turn!” Seconds after that, the controller ordered firetrucks onto the runway.
“The airplane was not properly aligned with the runway. The tower repeatedly asked if the pilot was OK and the reply was ‘Yes,’” said the general manager, Raj Kumar Chetri.
US-Bangla operates Boeing 737-800 and smaller Bombardier Dash 8 planes, including the Q400, the model that crashed.
The airline is based in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, and flies domestically and internationally. The parent company, part of US-Bangla Group, is also involved in real estate, education and agriculture.
-PTC News
