19 April 2023 , 17:09
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The dad of a British professional ballet dancer who was among the 72 people tragically killed in a plane crash has shared 'struggle' of getting his son's death certificate in the UK.
Ruan Crighton from Brentwood, Essex, was one of 72 people on board the Yeti Airlines Flight 691 from Nepalese capital Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara.
The 34-year-old died when the ATR 72 plane crashed in the gorge of the Seti River - just over a kilometre from the airport in Pokhara - earlier this year. An inquest into his death yesterday (April 18), heard that though a British investigation into the crash had been completed, another air accident investigation in French was still underway.
Ruan Crighton had toured Europe as a professional ballet dancer having studied and worked in London, Finland and Slovakia, Essex Live reports.
He studied at Brentwood's Central School of Dance and later graduated from the Central School of Ballet in London in 2008.
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He later enrolled at the European School of Physiotherapy in Amsterdam after his 30th birthday in a career change, and was completing a placement at a spinal injury clinic in Kathmandu at the time of the tragic plane crash. Mr Crighton's name and passport number were published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal shortly after the crash.
North London Coroner's Court heard an inquiry into the black box of the aircraft was 'ongoing' in France because the ATR 72 plane was manufactured in the country. Family members of Mr Crighton, from Essex, attended the inquest in High Barnet via video link.
Mr Crighton's father, Ronnie Crighton, informed Assistant Coroner Peter Straker that the French investigation had not yet been concluded. The inquest was therefore put back until the report's publication at an unspecified date.
Dr Straker told the family: "Let me begin by offering you my sincerest sympathy and condolences. I am genuinely sorry for your loss. What a sad and tragic case this is.
"We will meet again once we get some progress from the French investigators. I reiterate once again how very sad this case is. I have endless sympathy for anyone in your position."
The hearing was told there was no active police investigation into the crash in the UK, which occurred on January 15 this year. Ruan Crighton's father, Ronnie, told the hearing: "We have the preliminary accident investigation report and identification. But there is an inquiry ongoing in France into the plane's black box, because it is a French aircraft."
Ronnie Crighton also requested a UK death certificate for his son, having explained he had so far only been issued with a Nepalese certificate and was struggling to close his son's bank accounts without a British one. Dr Straker said that he would see that an interim certificate be produced, though an official death certificate will follow the inquest.
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number 72 refers to the typical seating capacity for passengers. There were zero survivors in the crash, in which there were said to have been 68 passengers and four crew members.
The inquest has been pushed back until a French report on the aircraft's black box is published.