Co-pilot of Nepal crash was widow of pilot killed in a plane crash 16 years earlier

A c0-pilot who is believed to have been killed in the recent plane crash in Nepal was a widow of a pilot who died in a plane crash 16 years earlier.

The Yeti Airlines plane crashed near Pokhara airport in central Nepal yesterday (January 15) with 72 people on board. Currently, 68 of the 72 have been declared dead but it is believed there are no survivors, per BBC News.

The twin-engine ATR 72 had left the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu and crashed into a gorge 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from its intended destination.

Fifteen of those on board are said to be foreign nationals, four of which have been named by the Russian Federation as Viktoria Altunina, Yuri Lugin, Viktor Lagin, and influencer Elena Banduro who shared a heartbreaking final post from her seat on the aircraft.

Shocking footage of the plane moments before it crashed can be seen below (Some viewers may find the footage distressing):

It has come to light that the co-pilot of the doomed plane was a widow of a pilot who died 16 years previously in a plane crash.

Per the Daily Mail, 44-year-old Anju Khatiwada joined Nepal's Yeti Airlines in 2010 in order to walk in the footsteps of her late husband.

Dipak Pokhrel died in 2006 when the small passenger aircraft he was flying crashed just minutes before it was due to land.

Khatiwada used the insurance money from her husband's death to fund flying lessons in the US in order to become a pilot just as her husband had been.

The 44-year-old pilot has not been named as one of the deceased but due to the 68 confirmed deaths and the belief that there were no survivors, it is feared she perished in the crash.

Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson for Yeti Airlines told Reuters: "Her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, died in 2006 in a crash of a Twin Otter plane of Yeti Airlines in Jumla.

"She got her pilot training with the money she got from the insurance after her husband's death."

Bartaula went on to explain that Khatiwada had clocked more than 6,400 hours of flying time and had flown the route between Kathmandu and Pokhara before.

An unnamed spokesperson said: "On Sunday, she [Khatiwada] was flying the plane with an instructor pilot, which is the standard procedure of the airline."

Kamal K.C., the captain of the flight who had more than 21,000 hours of flight time, has been identified after his remains were found in the wreckage of the plane.

Our thoughts remain with those affected by this tragedy.

Featured image credit: Marc Boettcher / Alamy