Nepal plane crash vs miracle on the Hudson: Same day, 14 years apart, different endings

The date of January 15 will forever be inscribed in the history of aviation disasters. Two separate aviation accidents happened on the same day, 14 years apart, and both had opposite endings. While in one accident, the bravery and skill of the pilot saved 155 lives, in the second accident 72 lives were lost, either due to pilot error, or technical fault of the aircraft. These two incidents are the plane crash in Nepal that killed all 72 passengers on board the Yeti Airlines flight on January 15, 2023. The second occurred on January 15, 2009, when Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger saved the lives of 155 people on board a US Airways flight by landing the plane on the Hudson River.

On January 15, 2023, A Yeti Airline aircraft operating an ATR-72 with 72 people on board, including 68 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed while landing at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal. Pokhara is a popular tourist destination in Nepal and its international airport was recently built. inaugurated, and built with the financial help of China. The plane crashed between the old airport and Pokhara International Airport, during landing and a video shot on a mobile showed that the plane was about 90 degrees left before the crash.

The ATR 72 aircraft, which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara, had 11 foreign nationals including two infants, four crew members and 5 Indians on board. Experts are of the view that though the exact cause of the crash will be known only after a detailed investigation is completed, prima facie it appears that there was a possibility of mishandling by the pilot or a fault in the aircraft’s angle of attack system. As can be seen in the video, the weather was absolutely fine on the day of the accident.

miracle on the hudson

On January 15, 14 years ago, US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River after it hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, losing all engine power. Was. There were 155 people on board operating the Airbus A320. All passengers ejected safely from the aircraft and were rescued by nearby boats, with only a few seriously injured. The media immediately dubbed the incident the “Miracle on the Hudson”, while a United States National Transportation Safety Board official described it as “the most successful ditching in aviation history”.

The pilots and flight attendants were awarded the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators’ Master Medals in recognition of their “gallant and unique aviation achievement”, while Captain Sully became a hero to the world. A film was made based on the heroics of the former fighter jet pilot, starring Tom Hanks and premiering in 2016.