C T Online Desk: Sunday’s crash of Yeti Airlines – ATR-72 in Nepal’s Pokhara sums up what is a sad tale for Anju Khatiwada who was seconds away from realising her dreams of becoming a captain while having the same experience her husband, Deepak Pokhrel, did when he passed 16 years ago.
The plane carrying 72 people for what was a 27-minute flight crashed into forested land located on the banks of the Seti River that flows between the old domestic airport and Pokhra International Airport on Sunday.
Everyone onboard, including five Indians, is reportedly dead. Nepal’s Yeti Airlines has confirmed there were 68 passengers, including five Indians on the aircraft. So far, 70 bodies have been retrieved by Nepalese authorities, India Today reports.
Anju lost her spouse 16 years ago to a plane crash on June 21, 2006. Her husband was a co-pilot too and, coincidentally, for Yeti Airlines itself. 16 years ago, Yeti Airlines 9N AEQ aircraft on its way to Jumla from Nepalganj via Surkhet crashed wherein six passengers and four crew members were killed. One of the people killed was Anju’s husband.
This was slated to be the last flight of the crashed plane’s co-pilot, Anju Khativada, as a pilot. She was due to become the captain after her successful landing, scheduled for Sunday.
With the aim of concluding her hours in the air and becoming a captain, Anju had taken the flight with the senior pilot and her instructor, Kamal KC. To become a pilot, one needs at least 100 hours of flying experience. Co-pilot Anju had successfully landed in almost all the airports of Nepal earlier.
Captain Kamal KC made him sit on the seat of the chief pilot while flying to Pokhara earlier today. Today, after a successful landing, Anju was about to get a chief pilot’s license. However, merely 10 seconds away from her goal, her dreams came crashing down and went up in smoke.
On the other hand, the captain onboard the fateful aircraft had 35 years of piloting experience. Kamal KC had trained many pilots in the past and the pilots trained by him are known as successful pilots today.
Source: India Today
