Kathmandu: Nepal on Wednesday marked the 80th anniversary of the first flight over the Mount Everest by two Scottish airmen, with the grandson of one of the pilots retracing the route to celebrate the occasion.
Two Scottish volunteers David Fowler Mclntyre and Lord Clydesedale accompanied by two photographers successfully carried out flights over the 8,848 metre Mt Everest on April 3, 1933.
Twenty years later, the photographs taken by them were used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on their historic expedition to the Everest.
Two years after their Everest flights, the two pilots founded an airport in Prestwick, Scotland and an aircraft factory, Scottish Aviation Ltd which later became BAE System and manufactured the Jetstream -41.
Today Lord Clydesdate`s grand son, Charles Douglas Hamilton accompanied by a team from Prestwick World Festival of Flight and international media corps took Yeti Airline`s flight over the Mt Everest?in a Jetstream-41.
"It was astounding to see the mountain and appreciate the sort of risks taken by the expedition pilots in the pursuit of advancing science and aviation. I will be back to trek with some friends and explore the mountains," said Charles Douglas Hamilton.
PTI
