A PLANE which crashed in Nepal — killing two Bolton brothers — could have been overloaded above legal weight requirements, investigators have discovered.

The twin-engine propeller Dornier plane crashed minutes after take-off near Nepal's capital, Kathmandu on September 28 last year.

Nineteen people died in the crash including seven British nationals.

Brothers Vincent Kelly, aged 50, from Lostock, and Darren Kelly, aged 45, who moved from Bolton several years ago to the Isle of Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway, were among the victims. The tourists were due to begin trekking two days after arriving in Nepal.

Reports following the crash suggested a bird strike was the cause. But The Air Accident Investigation Commission of Nepal has now released a report into the accident nearly one month before its anniversary. The report could not determine the exact cause of the crash.

Investigations found that the aircraft was overloaded by 78kg. The maximum take-off weight allowed for the flight was 5,836kg but the takeoff weight was calculated as being 5,914kg including the regulated weights for passengers.

The figure did also not include at least 80kg of baggage which was onboard the flight. The report said the overload of weight could not be the sole crash cause.

A statement was found claiming baggage had been offloaded but CCTV showed it being loaded on to the aircraft. The report found that the plane’s commander said “watch out for the bird” after lining up for takeoff. Seconds after starting the take-off the co-pilot reported the aircraft was clear of the bird. The bird was hit during the take-off but no evidence of the bird were found in the engine.

Evidence suggested that there was a loss of power that started as the aircraft accelerated.

It said: “There was no evidence to suggest that the flight crew recognised that a power loss had occurred on the ground, possibly because it occurred gradually and progressively rather than instantaneously. This would account for why the take-off was continued.”

The plane started to descend and it turned and hit the ground 420 metres from the runway.

Vincent Kelly, a married father-of-two, worked at Doric Developments.