KATHMANDU: Nepalese authorities on Thursday found the black box of the aircraft that crashed a day earlier and handed it over to an investigation team formed to inquire into the tragic accident that killed 18 persons, including a child.
A Pokhra-bound Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft of Saurya Airlines, with 19 people onboard, crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday, killing 18 people, and seriously injuring the pilot.
The killed people included a family of three, including a four-year-old boy, two crew members and technical staff of the airline.
Hansa Raj Pandey, deputy director general of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, said the black box of the ill-fated aircraft has been found and handed over to a probe team for necessary action.
The investigation team is led by Ratish Chandra Lal, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority, and includes four other experts. The team has to submit its report along with recommendations within 45 days.
The dead bodies after conducting a post mortem are in the process of identification and they will be handed over to the family members by Friday.
Meanwhile, Captain Manish Raj Shakya, the only survivor of the Surya Airlines air crash, is receiving treatment at the Kathmandu Medical College here and his condition is said to be stable. “Though he is admitted to the ICU, he can speak,” hospital sources said.
A local media report said Captain Shakya was rescued after the cockpit of the aircraft was separated by a freight container seconds before the rest of the aircraft caught fire.
The Saurya Airlines plane was flying to Pokhara for regular engine maintenance of the aircraft when the accident happened.
