John Crossley in the Himalayas
‘IT could quite easily have been me’ was the verdict of a recently returned tourist after learning of the deaths of seven British trekkers in a plane crash in Nepal.
All 19 passengers were killed when the two-engine aircraft crashed and exploded as it travelled from the Asian nation’s capital Kathmandu to the Himalayan town of Lukla — the exact same route flown by John Crossley, 24, of Hilton, just months ago.
Mr Crossley, like the passengers on board the tragic Sita Air flight, was bound for Mount Everest Base Camp.
The former Mail reporter, who made his journey from Kathmandu to Lukla on May 17, said: “You get the impression that airline safety isn’t really at the same standard as it is back home.
“A dozen of us flew out from Kathmandu to Lukla. Our flight was absolutely terrifying.
“The plane was very old and looked to be in a very poor condition. It was a twin-propeller plane and we were all crammed into the tiny cabin at the back.
“I’m absolutely fine about flying but I thought it was going to fall out of the sky at any moment. I was very relieved when our 35-minute ordeal was over. I was physically shaking.”
Mr Crossley said it took three attempts to land the plane at Lukla, where the runway is five storeys higher at one end than it is at the other.
He said: “Seeing the news about the latest crash has left me absolutely stunned.
“These crashes happen so often and it could quite easily have been us.
“Nepal is becoming more popular with tourists every year so something needs to be done to improve standards.”
A week after Mr Crossley’s Tara Air flight touched down in Lukla, 15 people were killed when another plane crashed while trying to land. Nineteen people were killed in September 2011 when a Buddha Air plane crashed during a flight to view Mount Everest.
That death toll was equalled yesterday when the latest plane crashed nearly a mile outside Kathmandu. The Britons on board were aged between 27 and 60.
They were due to embark on a 16-day Himalayan trek, starting at Everest Base Camp, with Hampshire travel firm Explore Worldwide.
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