Pilot Error Caused Deadly Yeti Airlines Crash in Nepal, Investigation Finds

The pilots mistakenly cut power, leading to an aerodynamic stall in one of Nepal's worst aviation accidents in 30 years.

A Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal that killed 72 people almost a year ago was caused by the pilots mistakenly cutting power, leading to an aerodynamic stall, according to a government-appointed investigation panel.
The ATR 72, operated by privately owned Yeti Airlines, crashed just before landing in the tourist city of Pokhara on January 15 in one of Nepal’s worst aeroplane accidents in 30 years.
The pilots had put the condition levers, which control power, in the feathering position, instead of selecting the flap lever, causing the engine to run idle and not produce thrust.
It was Nepal’s deadliest air crash since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside on approach to Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board.
Nearly 350 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal, where sudden weather changes can cause hazardous conditions.