The Kathmandu Post reported on Wednesday that a three-member investigation team will take the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to Singapore.
It quoted Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at Nepal’s tourism ministry, as saying that the team will leave for Singapore on Friday, with the examination expected to take at least a week.
Initially, it was suggested that the black boxes would be taken to France, where the ATR 72 aircraft was manufactured.
In February 2020, MOT and Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation Relating to Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation.
“The MOU covers the use of investigation facilities and equipment, including the flight recorder readout facility, training, and observer attachments,” said the spokesman.
The examination of the black boxes in Singapore will be free, the Post quoted Lamichhane as saying.
Flight 691 was carrying 72 passengers when it plummeted into a gorge while on approach to the newly opened Pokhara International Airport. Officials said there were no survivors.
The cause of the air crash – Nepal’s worst in 30 years – is yet to be determined.