Nepal plane crashed caused by emotionally disturbed captain

Abid Sultan was smoking, crying and talking continuously before crash that killed 51, leaked official report finds

A plane crash at Nepal’s international airport that killed 51 people happened because the captain suffered an “emotional breakdown”, a leaked draft of the official investigation has found.

Investigators said the captain, Abid Sultan, wept during the flight after his skills had been questioned by a co-worker. “This mistrust and stress led him to continuously smoke in the cockpit and also suffer an emotional breakdown several times during the flight,” their report said.

The 12 March flight from the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka crash-landed at Kathmandu airport and skidded into a football field where it burst into flames, killing 51 people in the deadliest aviation accident in the Himalayan nation for decades.

The captain’s constant monologue led to the “total disorientation” of the co-pilot, who was flying the plane when it crashed. Prithula Rashid had only recently qualified and had never previously landed at Kathmandu airport.

The draft copy of the final investigation report, seen by AFP, concluded the US-Bangla Airlines captain was “under stress and emotionally disturbed” after a co-worker had “questioned his reputation as a good instructor”.

Plane crashed at Kathmandu airport<br>epa06597895 A picture taken with a phone shows a rescue teams next to a wreckage of a plane that crashed at the main airport Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, 12 March 2018. According to reports, Bangladeshi US-Bangla plane had crashed while landing at the airport with 71 passengers and crew onboard. The casualties are yet unknown. EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

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During the short flight, Sultan – a former Bangladesh air force pilot who was also an instructor for the airline – talked non-stop as he tried to impress upon the junior co-pilot his competence and proficiency.

Nepal’s only international airport lies in a narrow bowl-shaped valley with the Himalayas to the north, making it a notoriously challenging place to land.

As the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop approached the runway it made a last-minute change of direction, failed to sufficiently reduce its speed and necessary landing checks were not carried out, investigators said.

The report revised the final death toll up to 51, including both pilots. Twenty passengers miraculously escaped the burning wreckage but sustained serious injuries.