All 19 people aboard a Beech 19000D carrying tourists to see Mt. Everest were killed on Sunday when their twin turboprop crashed as it tried to land in rain and dense fog at Nepal’s main international airport.
The airplane, operated by Buddha Air, crashed in Kotdanda, about 10 miles from the capital, Katmandu, as it was returning to Tribhuvan International Airport.
Two women from Utah were among those killed in the crash. The airline said the other 14 passengers were from India, Nepal and Japan. The two pilots and flight attendant were Nepalese.
The early morning flight reportedly had its last contact with air traffic controllers at 7:31 before crashing into a hill short of the runway four minutes later. Officials said 18 of those aboard were killed immediately and the 19th died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
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