Accident description
Last updated: 11 August 2016
| Status: | |
| Date: | Wednesday 24 February 2016 |
| Time: | ca 08:15 |
| Type: | Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400 |
| Operator: | Tara Air |
| Registration: | 9N-AHH |
| C/n / msn: | 926 |
| First flight: | 2015 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 23 |
| Airplane damage: | Destroyed |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Dana, Myagdi district ( |
| Crash site elevation: | 3347 m (10981 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Pokhara Airport (PKR/VNPK), Nepal |
| Jomsom Airport (JMO/VNJS), Nepal | |
| Flightnumber: | 193 |
A Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter 400, operating Tara Air flight 193, was destroyed in an accident in the Myagdi district, Nepal. All 23 on board suffered fatal injuries.
The aircraft departed at 07:50 hours local time from Pokhara Airport (PKR) on a domestic 20-minute flight to Jomsom Airport (JMO), Nepal. The copilot acted as Pilot Flying, the captain as Pilot Monitoring during the flight. En route the flight deviated to the left and climbed to 12000 feet to avoid clouds.
Over the Ghorepani area the GPWS began to sound. The aircraft was flying through clouds with a little visibility in between and a descent to 10000 feet was initiated. At 10200 feet the GPWS sounded again but the captain responded not to worry about it.
The captain was used to hearing these warnings in normal flight, so it became a habit to disregard the warnings. About one minute before the accident the captain took over control and initiated a climb. The aircraft impacted a mountainside at 10700 feet, coming to rest at an elevation of 10982 feet.
According to a statement by the airline, the aircraft crashed near Tirkhe Dungha, Dana VDC of Myagdi district.
The accident was caused by a loss of situational awareness when entering clouds while flying VFR. Classification:
VFR flight in IMC
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» Hemant Arjyal» The Himalayan Times
» Tara Air
Photos
approaximate flight route and accident location
Aircraft history
| date | registration | operator | remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 April 2015 | C-GUVT | Viking Air | registered |
| 26 September 2015 | C-GUVT | Viking Air | delivered to Nepal |
| 1 October 2015 | 9N-AHH | Tara Air | registrered |
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport as the crow flies is 69 km (43 miles).
Distance from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport as the crow flies is 69 km (43 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.