Plane crash in Nepal kills 18, official says
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A small airplane crashed and caught fire Wednesday as it tried to land in foggy weather at a tiny mountain airport near Mount Everest, killing 18 people, including 16 tourists from Germany, Australia and Nepal, officials said.
Only one person, the pilot, survived.
The 19-seat Yeti Airlines DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, which had taken off from the capital, Katmandu, snagged its wheels on a security fence during its landing at Lukla airport, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) from Mount Everest, said Mohan Adhikari, general manager of the Katmandu airport.
The plane caught fire and came to a stop within the airport grounds, Adhikari said.
He said 19 people were on board, including 12 German, two Australian and two Nepalese tourists. There were also three Nepalese crew members, including a pilot, co-pilot and flight attendant. The pilot was flown to Katmandu and hospitalized in critical condition though Vijay Shreshta, executive director of Yeti Airlines, said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
The visibility at the airport was about 1,310 feet (400 meters), just enough for the aircraft's landing, he said.
The tiny Lukla airport, little more than a runway carved from the side of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2,800 meters (9,200 feet), is an important jumping-off point for trekkers beginning their hikes and mountaineers heading to Everest.
The walk takes several days from there to Mount Everest Base Camp.
The airport is famous among travelers for its dramatic scenery, its stomach-lurching landings — and its occasional crashes. The end of the runway has a steep drop of a few hundred meters (feet).
In 2005, nine passengers and three crew members survived a crash in a small Gorkha Airlines plane with minor injuries.
a DHC-6 Twin Otter, similar to the one that crashed. 
A passenger plane carrying tourists, has crash-landed at an airport near Mount Everest killing 18 of the 19 people on board. Of those killed were 12 German, two Australian and two Nepalese tourists. The remaining three were the plane's crew who were of Nepalese decent. The only survivor was the pilot-in-command.

The twin engine DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter plane, operated by Yeti Airlines, was flying in Nepal from the nation's capital of Kathmandu to Lukla. It was landing at the Lukla Airport when its wheels got caught on a fence at the end of the runway, causing it to hit the runway and burst into flames. Firefighters fought for nearly two hours before bringing the fire under control.

Officials blame the crash on heavy fog and bad weather. Reports state that visibility was only 1,310 feet (400 meters), which was considered to be just enough for the plane to land.

"According to initial reports we have it crashed before it was to land and caught fire. The accident was probably caused by a last minute change in the weather," said Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal chief, Yagya Prasad Gautam.

There was at least one accident at the airport in 2005 when nine people survived a crash, only suffering minor injures. That plane was operated by Gorkha Airlines.