Mallika Dureja
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The widow of a pilot who flew for the same airline and died in a plane crash 16 years ago was the co-pilot of the Yeti Airlines flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday.
In 2010, Anju Khatiwada went to work for Yeti Airlines, just like her husband had done before her. Dipak Pokhrel also worked for the Nepali airline, but he died when the small passenger plane he was flying crashed just before landing.
Khatiwada was the co-pilot of the flight from Kathmandu that crashed as it approached the city of Pokhara on Sunday. At least 68 people died in the Himalayan country’s worst plane crash in 30 years.
Anju khatiwada, the 44-year-old co-pilot of the Yeti Airlines plane that crashed in pokhara on Sunday, had lost her pilot husband in a plane crash 16 years ago. "Her husband. Dipak Pokhrel, died. #dipakpokhrel#copilot #nepa
#anjukhatiwada pic.twitter.com/ent7fuwdZ1— Updated News (@daily_news88) January 16, 2023
So far, none of the 72 people on board have been found alive.
“Her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, died in 2006 when a Yeti Airlines Twin Otter plane crashed in Jumla,” a spokesman for the airline told Reuters, referring to Khatiwada. “After her husband died, she used the money from the insurance to train to be a pilot.”
Khatiwada was a pilot with more than 6,400 hours of flight time. Bartaula said that Khatiwada had flown the popular tourist route from Kathmandu, the country’s capital, to Pokhara, its second-largest city.
The body of Kamal KC, who was the captain of the plane and had flown for more than 21,900 hours, has been found and identified.
Bartaula said that Kathiwada has not been found, but it is thought that she is dead.
“On Sunday, she was flying the plane with an instructor pilot, which is how the airline usually works,” a Yeti Airlines employee who knew Khatiwada said.
“She was always ready to do any job, and she had already flown to Pokhara,” said the official, who didn’t want to give his name because he wasn’t allowed to talk to the media.
Reuters couldn’t get in touch with any of her family members right away.
According to eyewitness accounts and a video of the crash that was posted on social media, Khatiwada’s ATR-72 plane rolled from side to side before it crashed in a gorge near Pokhara Airport and caught fire.
Also read: Astronomers discover a black hole 300 million light years distant that is bending a star into a doughnut shape.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were found on Monday. They may help investigators figure out why the plane crashed in clear weather.
Since 2000, nearly 350 people have died in Nepal in plane or helicopter crashes. The country has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Everest, and sudden changes in the weather can make things dangerous.
