On January 15, a deadly passenger plane crash occurred in Nepal. At least, 64 people have been declared dead in the horrific incident. As per Reuters, there were a total of 72 people on the plane. Among those passengers, there were 15 foreign nations. There were 5 Indians, 4 Russians, 1 Irish, 2 South Korean, and 1-1 Australian and French national each. Also, there was one Argentinian national on the plane with other crew members on board.
The Pokhara Plane Crash has been termed among the worst Plane Crash in the country. The last, such crash took place in March 2018. At that time, a US- Bangla flight was scheduled to land in Kathmandu. The incident killed 51 of the 71 people that were traveling on the flight.
Why is it difficult to Fly in Nepal?
Nepal is a hilly country. It has a long history of plane crashes. As per data, there has been a total of 27 fatal plane crashes in the country during the past 30 years. However, 20 of them occurred in the past 10 years.
The prime reasons for these plane crashes are:
- Mountainous terrain
- Lack of investment in buying new planes
- Inadequate infrastructure
- Poor regulations
- Airstrips between mountains
- Unstable weather
Taking an action on such incidents, the EU banned all based Airlines in their airspace. Also, the government in Nepal could not take enough measures against it. Consequently, it remains blacklisted.
Also, the narrow landing strips in the Himalayas are difficult to reach. Only small planes like the one that crashed today can reach there not the bigger ones. But, these small planes are easily impacted by unfavorable weather in the country.
Some of the biggest Plane Crashes in Nepal
2022– Last year, 16 Nepali, 4 Indian, and 2 German nationals were killed in a plane crash. It was the De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft that crashed. It is noteworthy that the incident took place when the aircraft was taking off in Pokhara.
2019– In 2019, a helicopter that was operated under Air Dynasty crashed due to poor visibility. The incident resulted in the death of all 7 passengers. Moreover, it included Nepal’s Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari and entrepreneur Ang Chhiring Sherpa. The latter owned Yeti Air, Tara Air, and Himalayan Airlines in partnership with Tibet Air. Later, reports claimed that there were violations of operating procedures, a disbalance of weight, and improper seating arrangements. Also, poor weather was not considered in the ‘VIP’ case.
2018– A plane operated under US-Bangla Airlines crash-landed. The incident took place at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. It killed 51 passengers as the plane skidded off the runway that started a Blame game among authorities.
2011– A aircraft operated by Buddha Air with tourists who came for a sightseeing trip around Mount Everest hit a hill. All the 19 people on the flight died. It included 10 Indians. The incident was a result of adverse weather conditions.
1992– An Airbus operated by Pakistan International Airlines crashed while landing. The incident took place at the Kathmandu airport and a total of 167 people died. It was caused when the plane struck a last mountain ridge. Also, the airport was surrounded by hills and the pilot made an error while descending the plane.
1992– An Airbus 310 operated by Thair Airways crashed while reaching Kathmandu. It caused the death of all 99 passengers and 14 crew members. It collided with a mountain in a heavy monsoon. Investigations suggested that there was a minor failure on the flaps of the plane. Moreover, there was a miscommunication with the ATC and poor climate conditions.
