Questions remain over who was in control of plane during landing

There remains a big question about who was actually in control of the ill-fated US-Bangla plane during its landing as it crash landed in Kathmandu on Monday killing at least 51 people including 26 from Bangladesh.

Apart from the issue of miscommunications between the cockpit and the airport traffic control (ATC), questions arose over some other issues like technical glitch and the person actually in control of the aircraft during landing.

These are the probable factors behind the crash of the 78-seater US-Bangla Airlines' Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft at Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport with 71 passengers on board.

The government of Bangladesh decided on Wednesday to observe a Mourning Day on Thursday (today) to pay respect to the deceased.

The decision was taken at a high level meeting convened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.

The national flag will fly at half mast across the country, Principal Secretary to the PM Nojibur Rahman said while briefing the media on the meeting.

The meeting also decided to hold special prayers for the aviation tragedy victims on Friday at mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and all other places of worship in the country.

A team Bangladesh doctors, specialised in burn injuries, was ready to fly to Kathmandu, said the PMO official. A team of police would also fly to Nepal to collect DNA samples of the deceased.

"If the survivors want, the government will bring back them for treatment here at burns unit in Bangladesh as it offers quality medical care," said Mr Rahman.

He added that US-Bangla Airlines was ready to transfer the two 'critically injured' victims to a third country for better treatment.

The airlines, however, suspended its Kathmandu flights after the accident due to aircraft shortage, Kamrul Islam , General Manager, PR, of the airlines, told the media on Wednesday.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal, who is in Kathmandu now, called on Nepal Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa to discuss the fatal passenger airplane crash.

During the meeting held at the Home Minster's office, Thapa said the government of Nepal did its best for the prompt rescue and relief of the victims.

The process of identifying bodies of the Bangladeshi nationals killed in the crash and their post-mortem examinations were underway and arrangements were in place to send the mortal remains back home as soon as possible once such work gets over, he told Kamal.

Kamal told the media that it would take at least three days to send the bodies of the deceased home due to various formalities including post-mortems.

Out of the 10 inured Bangladeshi passengers, the condition of four was stated to critical. Two of the injured Bangladeshis were discharged from hospital.

"The family of one of the injured from Bangladesh who is receiving treatment at OM Hospital wants to take the patient to Singapore for further treatment and orthopedics and medical specialists for burn injuries from Bangladesh wish to visit Nepal to help in treatment of those injured in the crash," he informed Nepal Home Minister.

In response, Thapa said Nepal was ready to facilitate the process if it proceeded through the Embassy of Bangladesh in Nepal.

Many raised questions about whether the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft had sustained a technical glitch as passengers who survived the crash said sustained shuddering few minutes before the crash followed a loud bang.

On the other hand, the leaked conversation between the cockpit and the airport traffic control (ATC) revealed that Pilot Abid Sultan himself was communicating with the tower. It raises a question as to whether co-pilot Prithula for whom it was the maiden international flight, was in control of the plane during the landing.

Usually the person who is in control of the aircraft does not communicate with the ATC, said experts.

Some passengers who survived the crash told the media that before the incident, he could sense the danger, the plane was wobbling horribly.

Though during this time of the year (February-April) strong winds often blow away a plane, the case of Flight 211 was different as the audio conversation suggests. On that day the weather, especially the wind, was normal and the captain seemed to be cool and calm while communicating with the ATC.

So experts wonder why the aircraft made a sharp right turn from north-west to east over the ATC tower.

"It's abnormal. Obviously, it is difficult to land at the TIA (Tribhuban) given its vast terrain, but pilots who fly in Kathmandu are "specially trained," Ratna Manandhar, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, who has vast experience as an air traffic controller, told the media in Nepal on Wednesday.

Pilots have to do separate simulator training for Kathmandu's airport landing. The US-Bangla Airlines' Captain Abid Sultan, a former pilot of the Bangladesh Air Force, had landed more than 100 times at Kathmandu. Sultan had more than 5,000 hours of flying experience.

Manandhar argues the ATC had cleared the runway on both sides for Flight 211 to land, when the aircraft was at the north side of the runway. The radio conversation tells the flight was permitted to land from the runway 02 (Koteshwor side), but it abruptly broke the path and proceeded towards north--a surprise for the ATC.

The issue of technical glitch cannot be ruled out, given the abnormal behaviour of the Flight 211, an aviation expert said.

'A video posted on a local news portal, shows that the aircraft was flying very low at Gagalphedi, north-east of Kathmandu. The video shows it nearly crashed at a foothill of a hill. The aircraft, however, managed to lift with white light visible from the wing tip that illuminates the terrain. Locals are heard chatting: The aircraft has lost its way. It is flying. It is flying,' a report run by the Kathmandu Post online said.

At this point, in the audio conversation, Nepali pilots on the ground are heard warning the ATC that the Flight 211 pilot seems disoriented and that he should be assisted by radar vectoring, as the visibility in the hills is bad.

Bombardier Inc. has sent two officials to Nepal to assist the Nepal government in the investigation of US-Bangla Airlines Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.

An air safety senior investigator will act as an adviser and a field service representative will support the airline, said the company's spokeswoman Nathalie Siphengphet.

According to Bombardier, the Q400 has met several landing gear incidents over the years but this is just the second crash of the aircraft resulting in deaths.

All 49 people on board were killed on February 12, 2009 when a Colgan Air flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, stalled and crashed into a house while preparing to land at the airport.

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