One of the first steps taken after an accident is to look for the aircraft's black boxes. The term “black boxes” collectively refers to the aircraft flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Data from them can help investigators to more thoroughly study the causes and key points of the incident. As for the recent crash of the Yeti Airlines airliner, it became known the day before that the “autopsy” will happen in Singapore.
During the 11 days that have passed since the accident, several options were called where to bring the black boxes. Two days after the crash, local investigators were expected to analyze the voice recorder while the flight recorder was sent to France. Although it is far from Nepal, it has its own logic.
Indeed, the Yeti Airlines plane that crashed on the ill-fated Flight 691 was an ATR 72-500, and the manufacturers of this Franco-Italian twin-engine turboprop liner are based in Toulouse, France. Thus, it would allow those familiar with the aircraft to process the data faster, especially since the French representatives visited the crash site.
However, it was confirmed the day before that the contents of the black boxes would in fact now be analyzed elsewhere. It should be Singapore, and in this case, both FDR and CVR will be sent there.
Regarding the timing of the examination in Singapore, the Nepalese authorities have stated that the black boxes will be sent to Singapore tomorrow, Friday. The Nepalese investigation team is flying in with a flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder.
While this will take some of the burden off local authorities investigating the crash, there is still a lot of work to be done on the spot. This is due to the fact that the remains of two people who were on board the aircraft have not yet been found. While it was determined that all 72 people on board died in the crash, the whereabouts of the missing victims is not known.
What is known so far?
Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed on the morning of January 15, 2023 while landing at Pokhara International Airport. It operated a scheduled domestic flight from Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport. On board were 68 passengers from eight different countries and four crew members. All of them, unfortunately, died as a result of the accident. This crash was the worst ever to hit the ATR 72.
Video footage from the scene showed the aircraft banking sharply to the left just before the fatal ground impact. The day after the crash, reports began to surface that the black boxes had been found.
The plane involved in the crash, — 15.5 year old ATR 72–500. He joined the Yeti Airlines fleet in April 2019, having previously flown for Kingfisher and Nok Air.