Queda de avião em Katmandu deixa 19 mortos

Um avião com 19 pessoas a bordo caiu nesta sexta-feira próximo ao Aeroporto de Katmandu, capital do Nepal, e não há sobreviventes, informou a polícia.

"Os 19 passageiros do avião da Sita Air estão mortos. O acidente ocorreu a menos de um quilômetro do aeroporto", declarou à AFP o porta-voz da polícia Binod Singh.

"O acidente matou doze estrangeiros, sendo sete turistas britânicos e cinco chineses. Os outros sete mortos são nepaleses, incluindo os membros da tripulação", declarou Singh.

O avião acabara de decolar e seguia para Lukla, uma pequena cidade do noroeste do país que é ponto de partida para o Everest, a montanha mais alta do planeta.

O acidente ocorreu por volta das 06H30 local (21H45 Brasília de quinta) e logo após a queda, dezenas de soldados que estavam na zona tentaram apagar as chamas, disse o porta-voz do Exército Ramindra Chhetri.

A princípio, a polícia havia informado a morte de cinco japoneses, dois italianos e um britânico no acidente.

"Parece que o piloto tentou pousar no leito do rio Manohara, mas o avião se incendiou", disse Singh.

"Viu que o avião tentou pousar. Ele pegou fogo e havia pessoas gritando em seu interior. Acredito que os pilotos tentaram pousar no rio", revelou uma testemunha à Kantipur Television.

Os aviões são um importante meio de transporte no Nepal, país de montanhas e de estradas precárias. O Nepal tem 16 companhias aéreas domésticas e 49 aeroportos.

Os acidentes aéreos são relativamente frequentes no Nepal, em meio a condições meteorológicas adversas e a pistas de pouso difíceis.

The Aviation Herald Crash: Sita D228 at Kathmandu on Sep 28th 2012, bird strike

A Sita Air Dornier Do-228, registration 9N-AHA performing flight 601 from Kathmandu to Lukla (Nepal) with 16 passengers and 3 crew, was in the initial climb out of Kathmandu's runway 20 when the crew reported a bird strike and the failure of an engine. The crew attempted to return to the airport and then an emergency landing at the bank of Manohara River in Koteshwor village near Jodibutti, just outside the airport perimeter, about 2 minutes after departure from Kathmandu, but the aircraft burst into flames after coming to rest at approx. position N27.6808 E85.3557 at about 06:19L (00:34Z). All occupants perished, the aircraft was destroyed in the crash.

Emergency services needed 40 minutes to extinguish the fire, the bodies of the occupants are all charred beyond recognition.

The airline said the aircraft hit birds on takeoff from Kathmandu.

Nepal Police reported the aircraft caught fire after departure from Kathmandu and crashed within 2 minutes after departure.

The airport reported the aircraft caught fire in flight after hitting a bird on departure, the cause of the crash however needs to be confirmed. The black boxes have been found and recovered. The aircraft had been cleared for takeoff at 06:17L, last contact with the crew was at 06:18L. The crew reported a bird strike and the failure of an engine on climb out. The bird was identified as a black eagle (wingspan up to 70 inches/178cm, weight up to 4 lbs/1.8kg).

Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the crew reported a bird strike.

The British AAIB announced they have dispatched two investigators to Nepal to assist in the investigation into the crash.

Ground observers reported the aircraft appeared to attempt a landing at the river bank. The aircraft was not on fire at that time until after coming to a stand still, the occupants could be heard screaming, but a few seconds later the fuel and fuel tanks ignited.

Airport sources said the crew reported a bird strike during the initial climb out of runway 20 and attempted to immediately turn back onto runway 02, about half way through the turn on single engine the crew appeared to have decided to land the aircraft at the bank of the river.

As informações são"AFP".Sempre é citado o link de referência. O conteúdo é de Responsabilidade:Thiago Oliveira Ferraz