AVIATION

27 JANUARY 2019: NEPAL

Findings of a report commissioned by the Nepalese government investigating the crash of US-Bangla Airlines flight 211 were released. The flight, which departed from Dhaka, was landing at Tribhuvan International Airport on 12 March when the crash occurred. The plane hit a fence after landing and caught fire killing 51 of the 71 people on board. The report had found that the pilot had an “emotional breakdown” which caused “loss of situational awareness.” Captain Abid Sultan, 52, was aggressive and distressed during the flight as a colleague had criticised his capabilities – Sultan was not aware of the new rules that required international flights to have air clearance before departing from Dhaka – which created confusion before take-off. Sultan also smoked in the cockpit and had little sleep the night before the flight. He had been released from the Bangladesh Air Force in 1993 for depression, yet had not disclosed his health problems to the airline.

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