Kathmandu: In a tragic accident, a small plane skidded off the runway of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu and crashed on Wednesday morning, killing all but one person - the pilot Captain Manish Ratna Shakya. The incident has put the spotlight back on Nepal's poor safety record, as nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in the Himalayan country since 2000.
The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, Airport Security Chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the 9N-AME/CRJ 200 call sign aircraft of Saurya Air crashed at 11:11 am (local time) on Wednesday while taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport to Pokhara.
The plane belonged to local Saurya Airlines, which operates domestic flights in Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets, both around 20 years old, according to Flight Radar 24. At least 18 passengers were killed as the plane burst into flames after the crash, but the pilot managed to survive with injuries in his eyes.
Why are Nepal's plane crash numbers so high?
Nepal's poor aviation safety record has been attributed to multiple reasons - from the rough mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, poor maintenance and aircraft training as well as lack of proper infrastructure and maintenance of aircraft. Furthermore, Nepal has some of the world's most strenuous and remote runways, which pose a challenge for even experienced pilots. This came to the limelight after a Yeti Airlines plane crashed in Pokhara in January 2023, killing all 72 passengers on board.
The mountainous country sees frequent fluctuations in the weather and it is difficult to operate a flight without a proper weather forecasting mechanism. The deadliest aviation incident occurred in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 people. There have been more than 20 crashes in the last decade alone.
The Kathmandu Airport, known as one of the riskiest airports in the world, is located right in the middle of the city inside a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides, which makes it a challenge even for experienced pilots and small planes to come through an opening and land safely. It is also surrounded by houses and has a single bumpy runway. Nepal, being a struggling economy, is unable to buy upgraded aircraft and infrastructure that it clearly needs to avert such disasters.
List of aviation accidents in Nepal since 2000
- July 11, 2023: At least six people were killed in a helicopter crash in central Nepal. The chopper, which departed from Solukhunvhu district, home to Mount Everest and other high mountain peaks, had five Mexican nationals and one Nepali pilot on board.
- January 15, 2023: The deadliest incident since the 1992 PIA crash, a twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara, killing all 72 passengers aboard, including five Indians. This raised concerns over Nepal's poor safety record and it was later revealed that pilots mistakenly cut power leading to an inadvertent movement of both condition levers causing an aerodynamic stall.
- May 29, 2022: At least 22 people, including 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans were killed on a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft that crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Pokhara.
- February 27, 2019: A helicopter crashed in bad weather in eastern Nepal, killing all seven people on board, including the tourism minister.
- March 12, 2018: At least 51 people were killed and 20 sustained injuries when a Bangladeshi airliner operated by US-Bangla Airlines crashed in cloudy weather as it came in to land at the Kathmandu Airport.
- February 24, 2016: A small plane crashed in bad weather, killing all 23 people on board. The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air, was on a flight from Pokhara to Jomsom in western Nepal.
- February 16, 2014: A total of 13 bodies were found at the site where a Nepal Airlines-owned Twin Otter plane crashed in 2014. The 9N-ABB plane, with 18 people aboard, had gone missing and later its wreckage was found a few kilometres from Khidim, a small town in Arghakhachi district in southern Nepal.
- September 28, 2012: A small propeller-driven Dornier aircraft struck a bird and crashed shortly after takeoff from Kathmandu, killing 19 people, including seven British and five Chinese passengers.
- September 25, 2011: A small plane carrying foreign tourists to view Mount Everest crashed in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board. The Beech aircraft was operated by private airline Buddha Air.
- December 16, 2010: A Tara Air DHC-6 Twin Otter that was travelling from Lamidanda to Kathmandu in December 2010, crashed shortly after takeoff. Three crew members were among the 22 passengers that were killed.
- August 24, 2010: At least 14 people, including four Americans, a Japanese and British national - were killed when their small plane crashed in bad weather in Nepal. It was operated by privately held Agni Air.
- October 8, 2008: A small Twin Otter plane crashed in the remote mountains of northeast Nepal, killing at least 18 people, mostly foreigners.
- March 4, 2008: At least 10 people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Ramechhap district of eastern Nepal, including four UN arms monitors.
- June 21, 2006: A Twin Otter passenger plane operated by Yeti Airlines crashed minutes before landing in Taplejung in eastern part of Nepal, killing all nine people on board. The people on board were travelling to attend WWF Nepal programme in 2006.
- May 25, 2004: A Twin Otter cargo plane crashed in the Mount Everest region, killing its three crew. It was operated by Yeti Airlines.
- August 22, 2002: Another Twin Otter plane, carrying foreign tourists, slammed into a mountain in bad weather in Nepal, killing all 18 people on board. It was operated by Shangrila Air.
- July 17, 2002: At least four people were feared dead after a twin-engined aircraft crashed into a mountain in west Nepal minutes before it was due to land.
- July 27, 2000: A Canadian-built Twin Otter passenger plane operated by state-owned Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in western Nepal's Dadeldhura, killing all 25 people on board.
Meanwhile, the Tribhuvan International Airport, which was closed following the crash of the Saurya Airlines plane, has now re-opened and flights operations have resumed, according to the Himalayan Times.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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