Plane crashes in Nepal, killing 49

KATHMANDU, Nepal — A plane crash at Nepal’s main airport killed 49 people among the 71 on board, police said Tuesday, after a recording indicated confusion over the landing direction before the plane, flying low and erratically, struck the ground and erupted in flames.

The pilot did not follow the control tower’s instructions and approached the airport’s one runway from the wrong direction, the Kathmandu airport’s general manager said.

“The airplane was not properly aligned with the runway. The tower repeatedly asked if the pilot was OK and the reply was ‘yes,’” Raj Kumar Chetri said.

But the conversations between the pilot and air traffic controllers indicated confusion over which direction the plane should land. In the recording posted by air traffic monitoring website liveatc.net, conversation veers repeatedly about whether the pilot should land from the south or the north.

Just before landing the pilot asks, “Are we cleared to land?”

Moments later, the controller comes back on, using a tone rarely heard in such conversations — perhaps even panic — and tells the pilot: “I say again, turn!”

Seconds later, the controller orders fire trucks onto the runway.

The US-Bangla Airlines flight was carrying 67 passengers and four crew members.