Nepal plane crash: Co-pilot lost husband in similar mishap 16yrs ago

Anju Khatiwada, the co-pilot aboard the fateful Yeti Airlines -- ATR-72 -- which crashed in Nepal's Pokhara with 72 people, was seconds away from achieving her goal of becoming a captain.

She lost her life and her dreams just moment before realising them, mirroring the fate of her late husband, Deepak Pokhrel, reports India today.

The plane was piloted by senior Capitan Kamal KC and Anju was the co-pilot on the aircraft during a 27-minute flight.

On Sunday, the plane crashed into forested land near the Seti River, which runs between the old domestic airport and Pokhara International Airport.

Anju lost her spouse to a plane crash on June 21, 2006. Her husband was also a co-pilot and, coincidentally, for Yeti Airlines itself, according to India Today.

Sixteen years ago, Yeti Airlines 9N AEQ aircraft on its way to Jumla from Nepalganj via Surkhet crashed wherein six passengers and four crew members were killed. One of them was Anju's husband, it said.

ANJU'S DREAM TURNS INTO SMOKE, DEBRIS

This was to be Anju Khativada's final flight as a pilot. She was supposed to take over as captain after her successful landing on Sunday, India Today said.

Anju had taken the flight with the senior pilot and her instructor, Kamal KC, in order to complete her flight hours and become a captain. To become a pilot, one must have at least 100 hours of flight time. Anju had previously successfully landed in almost all of Nepal's airports, the report said.

After a successful landing on Sunday, Anju was about to get a chief pilot's license. However, merely 10 seconds away from her goal, her dreams came crashing down and went up in smoke it added.

On the other hand, Kamal KC had 35 years of piloting experience. He had trained many pilots in the past and the pilots trained by him are known as successful pilots today.