Two pilots died after the cargo flight they were flying crashed in the Simikot Pass region in Nepal’s Humla, on Wednesday, The Kathmandu Post reported. The deceased have been identified as Kiran Bhattarai and co-pilot Aditya Nepali.
Deputy Director General at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Rajan Pokharel confirmed the deaths and said the crash occurred at an altitude of 12,800 feet. The single-engine Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was operated by Makalu Air that provides chartered passenger and cargo services.
The flight had taken off from Surkhet Airport at 6.12 am Wednesday morning and was scheduled to land at 6.55 am in Simikot.
On March 12, a passenger plane from Bangladesh carrying 71 people crashed in Kathmandu, killing at least 51. The accident is believed to be Nepal’s worst aviation disaster since a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed in Kathmandu in 1992, killing 167 passengers.
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