The co-pilot of the ill-fated flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday lost her husband in a plane crash 16 years ago, it has emerged.
Anju Khatiwada was piloting Yeti Airlines Flight 691 when it plunged into a ravine near the tourist town of Pokhara, killing all on board in the country’s worst air disaster in 30 years.
Her husband Deepak Pokharal was also co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight when he died – and it was his death that inspired Anju to pursue a career in aviation.
Alone with her young child, Anju’s grief became her driving force.
“She was a determined woman who stood by her dreams and fulfilled her husband’s dreams,” said Santosh Sharma, a family member.
Deepak was in the cockpit of a twin Otter prop plane carrying rice and food to the western town of Jamil when it came down and burst into flames in June 2006, killing all nine on board.
Four years later, Anju was on her way to becoming a pilot, overcoming many hurdles to train in America. After qualifying, he joined Yeti Airlines.
A trailblazer, Anju was one of only six women employed by the airline as a pilot, and had flown close to 6,400 hours.
“She was a full-fledged captain in the airline who flew solo. She was a brave woman,” said Sudarshan Bertola of Yeti Airlines.
Anju later remarried and had a second child as she continued to pursue her career. Friends and family say she loved her job, and was a joy to be around.
At the crash site in Pokhara, Anju was piloting parts of the plane, which lay scattered on the banks of the Seti River, scattered like broken toy pieces. A small portion of the plane rested on the cliff, with the windows intact and the green and yellow colors of Yeti Airlines still visible.
This week’s tragedy has reignited discussions about airline safety in the Himalayan nation, which has seen hundreds of deaths in air crashes in recent decades.
Over the years, several factors have been blamed for the poor safety record of Nepal’s airlines. The mountainous terrain and often unpredictable weather can be difficult to navigate, and are often cited as reasons. But others cite outdated aircraft, lax regulations and poor oversight as equally important factors.
It is still unclear what caused Sunday’s crash.
Outside the hospital in Pokhara, families of the dead waited for their relatives to be released after post-mortems were completed.
In the bitterly cold January wind, Bhimsinban said he was hoping to take his friend Neera back to her village soon so she could be cremated.
