The official team, which recently completed its probe into Tara Air plane crash that killed 22 persons including 18 Bhutanese pilgrims last December in Nepal, said it found the unwise decision of the crew to descend the aircraft, without considering the mountain terrain, as the sole cause of the accident.
Among those killed in the crash, 18 were Bhutanese nationals and one American.
Releasing the report on Monday, investigator Rabindra Kumar Sherchan said the plane “descended on the instructions of air traffic control to avoid a helicopter in the area, but it then clipped a hill top with its left wing”
“The cause of the accident was the unwise decision taken by the crew to descend without taking the harsh mountain terrain into consideration,” AFP quoted Sherchan as saying.
According to the finding, the pilot and the co-pilot were confused, with the latter controlling the flight as the aircraft entered the cloud.
The aircraft, which was carrying Buddhist pilgrims from Halesi Mahadev of Khotang district, had crashed while returning to Kathmandu.
