Saturday, September 28, 2013

Widow of Nepal plane crash victim calls for safety improvements

The widow of a 60-year-old holidaymaker killed in a plane crash in Nepal has called for more safety improvements to stop further tragedies.

 Maggie Holding, of Barlaston, made the plea almost a year after her husband was killed in a crash.

Retired teacher Steve Holding was on a two-week holiday-of-a-lifetime when the tragedy happened.

Initial reports suggested the plane had crashed after striking a bird on September 28, 2012.

But a new report released by the Nepal Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (NAAIC) has revealed a catalog of failures.

The report found:

The twin-turbo aircraft was overloaded by 78-kilograms;

An unexplained loss of power, probably in the left engine, started during the take-off run;

No evidence that hitting a bird caused the loss of power;

The pilot failed to use the correct speeds during the take-off and in the initial climb, causing the aircraft to fall;

Indications the crew was not trained to handle this type of emergency situation.

All 19 passengers and crew were killed in last year's crash.

Mr Holding, of Longton Road, had been heading to Mount Everest when the crash happened.

Mrs Holding said: "I believe this tragedy resulted from an accumulation of errors, none of which would have occurred if more rigorous systems, supervision, training and basic good practice had been in place.

"Mountaineers will always want to go to Nepal and for Steve this would have been the best trip ever.

"But for both of us, the trip cruelly ended the plans we had for many more happy years together."

She added: "The lamentably poor standard of practice detailed in the report simply should not be allowed to continue.

"It is vital that changes are made as soon as possible to prevent other wasted lives."

The families of the British victims are being represented by law firm Irwin Mitchell.

The firm's head of aviation law, Clive Garner said: "We hope the findings of the recent investigation into the crash will lead to a full review of flight safety in Nepal and effective action taken to protect aircraft passengers in the future.

"We are already liaising with the European Commission in this regard and remain determined to not only gain justice for our clients, but also ensure lessons are learned from this horrendous crash.

"It is too late to save the passengers who tragically died, but their families want assurances that lessons will be learnt."


Original article:  http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk

NTSB Identification: DCA12RA153
Accident occurred Friday, September 28, 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal
Injuries: 19 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.

On September 28, 2012, a Sita Air Dornier 228, registration 9N-AHA, with Garrett (Honeywell) TPE 331 engines, reported a bird strike shortly and crash shortly after takeoff from Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM), Kathmandu, Nepal. The three crew members and 16 passengers onboard were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The flight was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from KTM to Lukla Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal.

The investigation is being conducted by the Nepal Ministry of Tourism. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Manufacture and Design of the engines.

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