KATHMANDU: An aircraft crashed in Nepal last month killing more than 70 people on board, had no thrust motion in its engines in the final leg of its descent, a government-appointed panel said on Monday. The plane crashed just before landing in the tourist town of Pokhra on January 15, one of the worst airplane accidents in the country in 30 years.
There were 72 passengers aboard the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines, including two infants, four crew members and 10 foreign nationals. 71 bodies were recovered by rescuers, with one unaccounted person presumed to be dead.
The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder showed the propellers of both engines went into feather in the base leg of the descent, the panel said in a statement.
Aviation expert K B Limbu said propellers going into feather meant there was no thrust in the engine, or that it did not produce any power.
Singapore's Ministry of Transport MOT is helping Nepali authorities retrieve and process the data readout from the flight recorders.
A ministry spokesman said on Jan 26 that all investigation related information will be handled by the Nepali investigation authority.