Feather mode possible cause: plane crash in Nepal: engines apparently out of order

In mid-January, a plane crashes in Nepal shortly after take-off, killing 72 people.

Feather mode possible cause: plane crash in Nepal: engines apparently out of order

In mid-January, a plane crashes in Nepal shortly after take-off, killing 72 people. Now a reason for the accident seems to have been found. Accordingly, both engines were in Feather mode, i.e. deactivated. This is evidenced by recordings from the cockpit.

When the plane crashed in Nepal in mid-January with 72 deaths, both engines had no power. The pilot mentioned it twice when air traffic control gave the clearance to land, according to a preliminary evaluation of the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder by the Air Accident Investigation Commission of the Nepal Civil Aviation Ministry.

Both engines were in feather mode, which could have caused the crash. In Feather mode, the propeller engine is off during flight. Normally only one engine is put into this mode - and that's when it fails, because in that case it creates little drag. It was initially unclear whether both engines were deactivated due to a human or technical error.

The machine of the Nepalese Yeti Airlines had an accident on January 15 on the half-hour flight between the capital Kathmandu and Pokhara on the landing approach. Pokhara is the starting point for numerous trekking tours in the Himalayas.

Plane crashes are common in Nepal. This has to do with the fact that weather conditions can change quickly. From the EU's point of view, the safety supervision by the Nepalese aviation authorities is also insufficient. Yeti Airlines is also blacklisted by the EU due to safety concerns.