Staff Reporter :
US-Bangla Airlines CEO Imran Asif says ‘wrong signals’ from the air traffic control tower at Tribhuvan International Airport might have led to the crash of its plane.
Asif briefed the media in Dhaka on Monday evening on the identities of the survivors of the plane crash.
Asif said 16 survivors undergoing treatment in Kathmandu could be identified.
Asif also said a conversation between the pilot, Abid Sultan, and the air traffic control or ATC of the airport indicated the ATC sent ‘wrong signals’ to the pilot.
He said, the 76 seated aircraft was cent percent okayed while took off around 12:30pm from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka with 71 on board — 67 passengers and four crews.
“We are not accusing anyone now. We suspect it might have led to the crash.”
He also said the conversation was available on YouTube, and urged the media to hear and determine what happened before the crash.
On the other hand, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Sanjiv Gautam said, the aircraft of US-Bangla Airlines that crashed in Kathmandu was out of control while attempting to land on the runway.
“The plane was out of control when it attempted to land on the runway. The aircraft was permitted to land from the Southern side of the runway over Koteshwor but it landed from the Northern side,” Sanjiv Gautam also told The Kathmandu Post.
The aircraft might have sustained some technical glitches, said the official. “We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing.”
Quoting an army spokesperson, Reuters reports the airliner with 71 people on board crashed while coming in to land at Tribhuvan International Airport, killing at least 50 people.
The 76–seated aircraft took off around 12:30pm from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka with 71 on board — 67 passengers and four crews.
UNB adds: Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal made a surprise visit to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday night.
The minister visited the airport at 9pm and talked to passengers about the services of the airport.
He also inspected activities and services of the employees, said a press release.
During the visit, the passengers of Singapore-bound US-Bangla Airlines complained the minister about the delay in giving boarding pass to passengers.
Later, being asked, the airport officials informed the minister that manpower crisis is the reason behind the delay and they pledged that the incident will not happen again.
