Kasthamandap plane crashes, injured passengers say pilot and co-pilot saved passengers at the cost of their lives

Kathmandu / February 26: In yet another air fatality in less than a week, a plane of Air Kasthamandap crashed at Paragaun at Chilkhaya VDC-2 in Kalikot district today noon, killing pilot Dinesh Neupane and co-pilot Santosh Rana and injuring nine passengers.

The plane (9NAJB) that took off for Jumla from Nepalgunj crashed in Kalikot, according to a local Nanda Bahadur Katuwal.

It may be noted that just two days ago, Tara Air’s plane crashed at Dana VDC in Myagdi, killing all 23 including crew members on board.

“A loud crashing sound was heard all of a sudden. When I looked around to figure out, I saw the plane crashing in a wheat field right in front of me,” said Nanda Katuwal, who witnessed the plane crash at Chilkhaya VDC-2 in Kalikot district today noon, over the phone.

Soon after the front part of the plane of Air Kasthamandap grounded on the field, passengers hurried towards the exit, screaming and started coming out, Katuwal said. The plane crashed in the wheat field, around 200 meters away from the village.

The pilot was found dead inside the cockpit, while the co-pilot breathed his last two and a half hours later, said assistant health worker from Chilkhaya health post Junga Bahadur Rawal, who reached the incident site for rescue and provide treatment to the injured.

“The co-pilot screamed due to pain for about an hour. But we could not save him despite giving our best in the treatment,” he said, adding that he might have been saved had he been rescued on time.

Four health workers including Rawal from the health post rushed to the crash site to rescue the injured and provide treatment to them immediately after the crash. The crash site is half an hour’s walking distance from the health post.

According to one of the injured passengers, before the crash, the pilot had asked the passengers to stay on their toes constantly, saying that the plane was not in good condition.

“The condition of the plane was not good. But, do not panic. We will land the plane safely. We will save you all passengers even at the cost of our lives,” the injured passenger said, quoting the deceased pilot. The injured added that the plane crashed right after some minutes of the warning.

Injured passengers are as follows:

Megh Raj Giri

Jagadamba Khatri

Ganesh Bhattachan

Sonali Bhattachan

Laxmi Sunar

Govinda Prasad Bhandari

Laxman Khadka

Dhananjaya Khatri

One infant

Meanwhile, Air Kasthamandap has expressed deep grief over the death of pilots Captain Dinesh Neupane and Co-pilot Santosh Rana in an air crash at Chilkhaya of Kalikot district today.

Issuing a press release, the airlines company has prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls of the pilots who saved the lives of the passengers while remaining committed to their duty and expressed heartfelt condolences to the memebers of the bereaved families. The company has also wished for the speedy recovery of the passengers injured in the mishap. RSS