Nepal

A crash investigation team from ATR, the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer, has started inspection of the Yeti Airlines crash site in Pokhara. 

All 72 people on board the Yeti Airlines flight were killed in the crash on Sunday. It was the first crash involving an ATR aircraft in Nepal’s aviation history. 

The ATR 72 jet in question has been used by airlines all over the world for short regional flights since the late 1980s. The aircraft model, developed by a French-Italian cooperation, has been involved in multiple fatal incidents throughout the years. Two crashes involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircrafts in Taiwan in 2014 and 2015 resulted in the planes being grounded for a period.

The nine-member team will also be consulting their Nepali counterparts in finding the cause of the accident.

Meanwhile, the five-member crash investigation commission under former secretary Nagendra Ghimire, has started an investigation in Pokhara, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said.

“We have started our work, studying everything in detail,” a member of the government-formed panel said. "It will take some time to prepare a report. Besides, we’ll have to wait for the black box reports.” The panel, formed hours after the crash, was given 45 days to submit its report.

According to the Aviation Safety database of the Flight Safety Foundation, there have been 42 fatal aviation crashes in Nepal since 1946.

The European Union has prohibited Nepali airlines from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, claiming inadequate safety standards. Despite International Civil Aviation Organization's positive appraisals in Nepal’s aviation sector in 2017, the European Commission (EC) has retain Nepal on the EU Air Safety list.