Pokhara | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

After landing on runway 24, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went down an embankment and came to rest in the Gandaki River with its right wing torn off. All 19 occupants were rescued, among them both pilots and three passengers were injured.

Probable cause:

For unknown reasons, the crew landed 240 metres past the runway 24 threshold (runway 24 is 600 metres long).

Crash of a Pilatus PC-6 Porter in Dambusch Pass

Date & Time: May 5, 1960 at 1016 LT

Type of aircraft:

Pilatus PC-6 (Porter & Turbo Porter)

Operator:

Swiss Dhaulagiri Expedition

Registration:

HB-FAN

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Dambusch Pass - Pokhara

MSN:

337

YOM:

1959

Location:

Country:

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Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

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Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

246

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a supply mission to the Swiss Dhaulagiri Expedition in the Himalaya Mountain Range and was leaving the Dambusch Pass to return to his base at Pokhara when the airplane crashed on takeoff. The right wing and the propeller were bent. While both crew members were uninjured, the airplane was abandoned in situ. Swiss people returned on site (5,200 meters high) in 1998 to recover the airplane that should repatriated in Switzerland. It is believed that a technical issue was the cause of the accident.
Crew:
Ernst Saxer, pilot,
Emil Wick, copilot.