Cargo plane crashes in Nepal, kills both pilots

A small Nepalese cargo plane today crashed in a mountainous district, killing both the pilots onboard the aircraft mostly used for flying food and other supplies to remote regions.

Pilot Kiran Bhattarai and co-pilot Aditya Nepali were killed when the Makalu Air cargo aircraft crashed at Simikot pass in Bahun Kharka in Humla district, police said.

The single-engine Cessna 208B Grand Caravan with call sign 9N-AJU had taken off from Surkhet to Humla district and was flying at a height of 12,800 feet.

The bodies of the two pilots have been brought to Kathmandu. There were no other passengers in the ill-fated aircraft, police said.

The bodies were brought on board a Simrik Air helicopter at around 1 pm, said Simrik Air staffer Kamal Gautam.

The aircraft took off from Surkhet Airport early today and was scheduled to land at 6:55 am in Simikot.

Makalu Air has three single-engine Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircrafts to its fleet. Based in Nepalgunj, Makalu Air provides chartered passenger and cargo services.

The freight transporter aircraft was discovered wrecked and fragmented into three parts in Ekalbajkharka at around 11:00 am, a Nepalese media report said.

The plane was mostly used for flying food and other supplies in the mountainous region.