The Australian couple who died in a plane crash in Nepal had planned to get engaged when they returned from a visit to Mount Everest, the sister of one of the victims has said.
Andrew Frick McLeod, 31, and his girlfriend Charlene Zamudio, 24, were flying into Nepal to trek around the world's highest mountain, when the plane clipped a security fence while landing at Lukla's Tenzing-Hillary airport.
Only the pilot of the Yeti Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter survived the crash in which 18 people were killed.
Ms Zamudio's grief-stricken sister Natasha said Thursday that Andrew had been planning to ask Charlene to marry him when they returned to Australia.
"Just before they left, Andrew rang me and told me he was going to propose to her when they came back," she said.
Mr Frick McLeod's stepmother Helen, spoke of the love between the couple.
"She was his sweetheart," she said.
Relatives said the couple had been meant to catch an earlier flight but were delayed by lost luggage.
Mr McLeod's father Bruno Frick said Thursday the couple loved adventure and had been flying into Nepal to trek around Mt Everest when the crash occurred.
He said young people should not be deterred from seeing the world because of tragedies such as this.
"You've got to live your life - it's love, it's life, it's precious," Mr Frick told reporters Thursday.
Mr Frick told ABC Radio earlier the couple loved to travel.
"(It was) just their first... real holiday. They were so looking forward to that," he said.
"They're lovely both of them, really lovely together."
Mr Frick said he and his son were very close.
"We like riding bikes together, we just get along so well," he said.
Nepalese officials believe poor weather may have played a part in the accident with visibility down to just 400 metres.