1969 Royal Nepal Airlines DC-3 crash
A Douglas DC-3, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date12 July 1969
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteHetauda, Makwanpur District, Nepal
Aircraft typeDouglas DC-3
OperatorRoyal Nepal Airlines
Registration9N-AAP
Flight originTribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
DestinationSimara Airport, Simara, today Jitpur Simara, Nepal
Passengers31
Crew4
Fatalities35
Survivors0

On 12 July 1969, a Douglas DC-3 operated by Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Nepal en route from Tribhuvan International Airport to Simara Airport on a domestic scheduled passenger flight. The wreckage of the aircraft, registration 9N-AAP, was found in Hetauda, Makwanpur District. All 31 passengers and four crew aboard were killed in the crash. An investigation into the crash was launched by Nepalese authorities after the accident site was located.[1][2][3]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Douglas DC-3 operated by Royal Nepal Airlines. Its maiden flight was in 1946 with Aer Lingus and was sold to Royal Nepal Airlines in 1964.[4]

Crew and passengers

All occupants on board died in the crash; they included the four crew members and 31 passengers.[5]

Incident

The flight was a scheduled domestic flight from Kathmandu to Simara in the Terrai region of Nepal. Despite the hilly flight path, the cruising altitude was 7,300 feet (2,200 m). In the clouds above Hetauda, the aircraft hit a tree on a mountain, which the crew did not see due to bad visibility. The aircraft crashed and caught fire. All occupants were killed in the crash.[3][6]

At the time, it was the worst aviation accident in Nepali history.[1] It was the third accident of this aircraft operated by Royal Nepal Airlines, who were the sole airline operator in Nepal at that time.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Air Safety:The 1969 Accident Record:Non-Fatal Accidents-Public Transport Aircraft 1969". Flight International, 15 January 1970.
  3. 1 2 "Crash of a Douglas DC-3D in Hetauda: 35 Killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "9N-AAP". rzjets. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Accident Details". Planecrashinfo. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Fixed wing involved in Fatal Air Crashes in Nepal Since 1955 to 2017". Aviation Nepal. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Nepal air safety profile". Aviation Safety Newtwork. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Royal Nepal Airlines". Aviation Safety Newtwork. Retrieved 1 October 2018.


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