Plane had hit bird before it crashed: TIA

Security personnel inspecting the Sita Air plane crash site near Manohara River in...

The Civil Aviation Office of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) confirmed that Sita Air Dornier plane had hit a bird before it crashed near the airport, four minutes after taking off Friday morning.

In a press conference organised to brief journalists on the crash that killed 19 people on board, TIA General Manager Ratish Chandra Lal Suman confirmed that pilot Bijaya Tandukar had informed the air traffic control that the plane hit the bird before it crashed.

According to Tandukar, the air traffic control had communicated with the pilot after they noticed ´unusual maneuvering´ at the time of takeoff.

"The plane crashed as soon as the pilot communicated with the air traffic control," he said.

The plane was carrying tourists to Lukla, gateway to Mt Everest, killing all 19 people, including seven Nepalis, seven British and five Chinese passengers on board.

Meanwhile dead bodies of the passengers have been brought to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj for postmortem. nepalnews.com