KATHMANDU, Nepal – A small plane carrying only crew members and cargo crashed near Mount Everest on Saturday, killing one of the pilots, Nepalese officials said. The two other crew members were injured.
The plane hit a mountain about 20 meters (66 feet) below the runway of Tenzing Hillary Airport at Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest, said government administrator Umesh Pandey.
The plane was carrying two pilots and an air hostess. They were all Nepali nationals.
Pandey said all three on board were taken to a local hospital.
One pilot died at the hospital while the other was in critical condition. Poor weather conditions were preventing a helicopter from flying out of Lukla to bring them to Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
Kathmandu Airport spokesman Prem Nath Thakur said the accident would be investigated. An initial report said it was windy when the plane was about to touch down.
The Czech-manufactured LET-410 plane belonged to the domestic airline Goma Air.
May is a popular month in the Mount Everest area for mountaineers and trekkers.
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