Singapore (Commonwealth Union)_ According to officials, at the request of Nepalese investigation authorities, Singapore’s Transport Ministry will examine the black boxes retrieved from the accident site of Yeti Airlines flight 691. Minutes before landing in the newly completed Pokhara International Airport on January 15, the airplane crashed into a canyon, killing all 72 passengers on board. It was the nation’s worst air disaster in the past three decades.
According to the latest statement released by the Transport Ministry (MOT) on Thursday, the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) of the Transport Ministry will assist in retrieving and reading the data from the crashed flight’s recorders. The examination will be conducted at TSIB’s flight recorder reading facility which was established in 2007. According to media reports, a statement from the spokesman stated that all inquiry-related data, including investigation progress and results, would be handled by the Nepalese investigating authority.
Flight recorders, popularly known as black boxes, store information about a flight, including instrument alerts and audio recordings, and assist in finding out the actual reasons and circumstances before an incident. The most recent reports stated that the Nepali investigative team will depart for Singapore on Friday with the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder for further investigation. According to media reports from Nepal, the analysis of the black boxes may take up to one week and will be conducted without any charges.
In February 2020, the Transport Ministry and Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in aircraft accident investigations, allowing Singapore to examine the boxes. The ministry further stated that the MOU covers the use of inquiry facilities and equipment, such as the flight recorder reading facility, training, and observer attachments.
