Nepal: Mobile Phone Signals From Crashed Plane's Pilot May Provide Imp Info To Accident's Site
Mobile phone signals from the lone pilot of a crashed tiny Nepalese passenger jet might offer important information to military and rescue personnel about the plane's likely position.
New Delhi: Mobile phone signals from the lone pilot of a crashed small Nepalese passenger plane may provide vital clues to soldiers and rescue workers on the possible location of the aircraft, which was carrying 22 people, four of whom were Indians, in the country's mountainous region, civil aviation officials said on Sunday, news agency PTI reported.
Tara Air's turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET jet took off from Pokhara to Jomsom, another famous tourist destination, at 10:15 a.m. According to an airline representative, the plane lost touch with the control tower 15 minutes later.
According to Nepalese media, the missing jet might be found on Monday after Nepal Telecom traced down the plane's pilot Captain Prabhakar Ghimire's smartphone using the Global Positioning System (GPS) network.
Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, was quoted by MyRepublica newspaper website as saying, "The cell phone of Captain Ghimire of the missing aircraft has been ringing and Nepal Army's helicopter has landed in the possible accident area after tracking the captain's phone from Nepal Telecom."
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has previously stated that it had traced the likely location of the plane to Khaibang in Mustang province.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal's spokeswoman, Deo Chandra Lal Karna, informed the Kathmandu Post that they traced the prospective location in Khaibang using an emergency locator transmitter (ELT).
The ELT is an emergency beacon that is used in aeroplanes to notify rescue authorities as well as to show the position and identification of a distressed aircraft.
Karna stated, "We have got a message from Bangalore, India, which tracks the ELT."
"But due to some complex weather factors, the rescue teams are finding it difficult to reach the probable site, he added. The area is blanketed in dense clouds and it has started to rain too," Karna added.
According to media sources, a Nepal Army helicopter carrying 10 troops and two civil aviation authority officials crashed on the bank of a river near the Narshang Monastery, the potential site of the disaster.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the likely position of the aircraft near Khaibang was traced using an emergency locating transmitter. However, owing to inclement weather, the search has been paused for the day.
According to Sudarshan Bartaula, an airline spokesperson, there are four Indian nationals, two Germans, and 13 Nepali passengers on board, in addition to a three-member Nepali crew.
"Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number:+977-9851107021," the Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted.
Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family.
— IndiaInNepal (@IndiaInNepal) May 29, 2022
Our emergency hotline number :+977-9851107021. https://t.co/2aVhUrB82b
The airline has released a list of passengers, which includes four Indians: Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his wife Vaibhawi Bandekar, their son Dhanush Tripathy, and their daughter Ritika Tripathy.
The plane was supposed to land at Jomsom Airport in the Western mountains around 10:15 a.m.
According to aviation sources, the plane lost communication with the tower while flying above Ghorepani on the Pokhara-Jomsom route.
An unsubstantiated report of a loud noise in Jomsom's Ghasa, according to an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport.
According to airline sources, the weather on the Pokhara-Jomsom route is now gloomy with rain, which has hampered search activities.
Earlier, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand urged officials to step up their search for the missing plane.
According to authorities, the aircraft was last seen turning toward Dhaulagiri Peak.
According to the airline's website, Tara Air is the newest and largest airline service provider in the Nepalese Himalayas.
It began operations in 2009 with the goal of assisting in the development of rural Nepal.
(With PTI Inputs)
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