Promising British Lawyer Killed in Airplane Crash
An airplane crashed en route to Mount Everest and killed 19 people. Amongst the victims was a promising British lawyer who wanted to celebrate his recent law school graduation. Before the airplane crashed, it caught fire after a bird got caught in one of the propellers. None of the passengers or crew aboard the plane survived.
Mount Everest from Kalapatthar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ben Ogden, a 27-year-old was on board of a domestic Sita Air flight and was scheduled to arrive to a Mount Everest base camp from the Katmandu airport to embark on a three-week trekking trip before embarking on what other professionals at Allen & Overy called a “promising career”.
Sherpa Adventures a travel company stated that the other Britons aboard the airplane were: Raymond Timothy Oakes, 57, Eagle, 58, Christopher Davey, 51, brothers Vincent and Darren Kelly, aged 50 and 45, and Stephen Holding, 60.
The group arrived on Wednesday to Katmandu and had been due to begin trekking Friday. They were travelling with Explore Worldwide, a Hampshire-based travel company.
Various news stories state that on take-off, the twin-engine propeller jet caught alight and crashed minutes later when the plane struck a vulture midair.
The law firm where the young Briton lawyer started working stated “Everyone at Allen & Overy is deeply shocked and saddened by the news that Ben Ogden was one of 19 people who were tragically killed in a plane crash in Nepal this morning
Mount Everest north face from Ronguk monastery in Tibet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends. As well as being an excellent lawyer, Ben was a very popular member of the firm. Ben had recently qualified and it was clear to everyone that he had an incredibly promising career ahead of him.”
Ogden had finished his studies of law and German at Oxford University. He was raised in Buckingham but lived in north London with his 26-year-old girlfriend Stephanie Illingworth, also an Oxford graduate.
Angie Gaunt, the wife of keen mountaineer Oakes, told the Telegraph that her husband had died doing something he always wanted to do. An accident “should never deter people from living out their dreams,” she said.
Amongst the victims of the fatal airplane crash were five Chinese trekkers, three passengers and four crew members from Nepal. Local leader Ashley Toft, Worldwide Managing director was also fatally injured in the crash.
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Reviewed by Chris H. in 2012.