All 22 Bodies from Nepal Plane Crash Recovered

MAY 29 2022·Updated JAN 2 2023

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Image credit: Getty Images [via NBC News]

The Facts

Officials have retrieved the last of the 22 bodies of the people who died in a plane crash in the Nepal mountains on Sun. One of the plane's black boxes (the pilot's voice recording) was also retrieved.
Independent
All the bodies were flown to the country's capital, Kathmandu, where doctors are performing autopsies at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Tara Air said in a statement. They will be handed over to relatives after the autopsies are completed.
NBC
The 43-year-old Canadian-made DHC-6-300 plane was carrying 4 Indian, 2 German, and 16 Nepali citizens when it took off from the resort town of Pokhara en route to the mountain town of Jomsom.
Independent
Poor weather is thought to have played a part in the crash, with Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology saying the forecast for Pokhara at the time of the flight was "generally cloudy with brief thundershowers."
CNN
The search helicopter was able to locate the aircraft "after tracking the [plane] captain's phone from Nepal Telecom."
Independent
A 5-member commission of inquiry has reportedly been formed by the government to probe the cause of the crash.
Independent

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The Spin

Narrative A

This tragedy is sadly but the latest in Nepal's poor record with aviation safety. There are shortfalls in investments in plane manufacturing and infrastructure, and the government doesn't regulate their airlines strictly enough. In 2013, the European Union banned all Nepal-based airlines from flying in its airspace over these concerns.

MSN

Narrative B

The Nepali government's regulation of its airlines may not be perfect, but Nepal also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots. Conditions were extremely challenging when this catastrophe occurred.