On January 15, a private plane crashed on its way from Nepal's capital Kathmandu to Pokhara. 72 passengers were killed. It was the worst plane crash in Nepal in 30 years. The possible reason behind this incident was pilot error.
Investigators confirmed this information in a report on Friday (December 29), nearly a year after the accident.
According to the report, the pilots of the aircraft may have pressed the condition lever by mistake. This disrupts the production of power in the aircraft engine and stops the rotation of the propeller.
A member of the investigation team told Reuters that the pilots mistakenly pressed the condition lever instead of the plane's flap lever. This caused the propeller to stop rotating and the aircraft lost speed and crashed.
Airplane accidents occur frequently in Nepal due to remote runways and sudden changes in weather conditions. The previous deadliest air crash in Nepal was in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines jet crashed in Kathmandu. 167 people were killed in it.