Nepal plane disaster co-pilot's husband died flying for same airline

Anju Khatiwada had pursued years of pilot training in the US after her husband died in a 2006 plane crash while flying for Yeti Airlines.

Dipak Pokhrel was flying a DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 plane when it crashed in Nepal’s Jumla district and burst into flames, killing all nine people on board.

Khatiwada later remarried.

Her colleagues described her as a skilled pilot who was very motivated.

“She was a very good pilot and very experienced,” Yeti Airlines spokesperson Pemba Sherpa.

Sherpa said Khatiwada was a “skilled pilot” with a “friendly nature” and had risen to the rank of captain after flying thousands of hours since joining the airline in 2010.

“We have lost our best,” Sherpa said.

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Meanwhile, a video purporting to show the last moments of the flight from inside the cabin has emerged.

The video, supposedly from a passenger’s livestream, has been confirmed as authentic by the brother of the passenger who filmed it, Associated Press reported.

CNN likewise said they had corroborated the video’s authenticity – but noted that a spokesperson for the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority had said the video was not from Sunday’s crash.

The video appears to show the moment the plane suddenly veered toward its left as the smartphone briefly captured the cries of passengers.

Within seconds the footage turned shaky and recorded the screeching sound of an engine. Toward the end of the video, huge flames and smoke took over the frame.