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The pilot on a US-Bangla Airlines flight that crashed at Nepal's main airport, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard, was apparently confused about which direction the plane should use to approach the runway.

The airline's CEO Imran Asif accused Kathmandu's air traffic controllers of giving the pilot the wrong instructions, according to Reuters.

 news site, airport general manager Raj Kumar Chettri, said the plane was seen making two rounds in a northeast direction:


In a recording by air traffic monitoring website liveatc.net, the pilot can be heard asking for permission to land the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 from the north, which is granted by the air traffic controller. Moments later, the pilot says he is on approach from the south, and the controller also approves that approach, according to The Associated Press.

 adds: "Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Sanjiv Gautam said that 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,' said Gautam suspecting the aircraft might have sustained some technical glitches. 'We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing.' "


A police spokesman Manoj Neupane said Tuesday that 49 people were confirmed to have been killed and 22 injured, according to the AP.

 quotes Nepal Police Spokesperson DIG Manoj Neupane as saying 22 injured passengers were undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Kathmandu.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Disasters

At least 49 people were killed in the crash of the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, carrying 71 passengers and crew, at Kathmandu's main airport.

Pilot of plane that crashed in Nepal reportedly was confused about runway approach

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