Nepal: Dornier 228 reported missing, believed crashed...

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DATE:24/08/10

SOURCE:Air Transport Intelligence news

Nepalese regional carrier's Dornier 228 reported missing
By Ghim-Lay Yeo

A Dornier 228 turboprop operated by Nepalese regional carrier Agni Air has gone missing while on a flight to Kathmandu.

The aircraft, registration 9N-AHE, has likely crashed in the hills of Makwanpur in central Nepal with 14 people on board, says an airline official.

"There are unconfirmed reports that the aircraft has crashed, and we are still waiting for more information," he adds.

The aircraft was flying to Kathmandu from the eastern town of Lukla when it got diverted to Simara Airport in south-eastern Nepal due to adverse weather at Kathmandu Airport, says the airline official.

"It went missing after it was diverted," he adds.

Eleven passengers and three crew members were on board the aircraft, says the official.

The Dornier 228 was built in 1985, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.

Agni Air operates six aircraft, comprising three Dornier 228s and three BAe Jetstream 41s, to seven destinations in Nepal from Kathmandu.

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/news/?id=36077" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; mentions a DHC-6 Twin Otter

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11067320" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

24 August 2010 Last updated at 06:40 GMT

Passenger plane crashes in Nepal with 14 on board A passenger plane has crashed into the hills outside Nepal's capital in heavy rain, officials say. Initial reports suggest there are no survivors.

The Dornier plane, carrying 14 people, crashed near Shikharpur village, 80km (50 miles) south of Kathmandu.

Officials said there were at least four Americans and one Japanese among six foreigners on board.
Witnesses said the plane had broken into small pieces.

Rescuers are yet to reach the site where the Agni Air plane came down.

The US embassy in Kathmandu said it was still trying to confirm the nationality of the passengers.

Hampered

The plane had been flying to Lukla, a popular trekking spot in the Mount Everest region of eastern Nepal.

It was returning to Kathmandu after failing to land in Lukla because of bad weather, officials said.

An airport official said an army helicopter was being sent in the search-and-rescue operation, which was being hampered by the bad weather.

A witness said the plane broke into pieces upon impact.

"There are small pieces of the plane all over the field and you can see body parts. We are all so shocked," villager Pratap Lama told the Kantipur radio station.

Eighteen people, including 12 Germans, were killed when a small plane crashed in 2008 in Lukla.

The 550m-long (1,800ft) sloping airstrip at Lukla perched on a hillside some 2,800m above sea level, with a steep 700m drop at one end, is considered one of the most difficult landings in the world.