Recent Crash in Nepal
On 15 January, a Yeti airlines plane crashed during its 27-minute journey from Pokhara to Kathmandu, killing all 72 onboard. The search for the remains of one of those onboard is ongoing and only 42 of the recovered bodies have been identified.
The airline’s spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said that, of the deceased passengers, 37 were men, 25 were women, three were children, and the remaining three were infants. Meanwhile, 15 passengers were foreigners, including five Indians, four Russians, and two Koreans. The rest were from Australia, Argentina, France, and Ireland.
Army personnel, police officers, and locals launched the search operation to recover the victims’ bodies from the 300-metre-deep gorge despite harsh weather and poor visibility.
Nepal civil aviation authority says 68 dead bodies recovered from the crash site. pic.twitter.com/akAQmWgR84
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 15, 2023
Cause of Crash a Mystery
The black box, along with the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, was recovered on Monday. Ron Bartsch, an aviation safety expert, said that the reason for the crash could be due to human factors or technical issues. However, he raised the concern that modern aircrafts do not generally “fall out of the sky.”
Amid speculations regarding the cause of the plane crash, several crucial facts have come to light. For instance, the plane, which was a twin-engine ATR 72-500 aircraft, was developed by a French and Italian joint venture in the 1980s, and known to have “very good track record.”
To this end, the French company that manufactured the flight deployed a nine-member team to Nepal on Tuesday to assist Nepalese authorities in the investigation. A five-member government-appointed team will also investigate the crash and submit a report within 45 days of the incident.
Surreal... Final Moments of the Nepal airplane crash captured by a Livestream - pic.twitter.com/w6AZGune8j
— Florian Witulski (@vaitor) January 16, 2023
The crash has brought to light similar incidents in other Yeti airlines flights, with five other incidents causing a total of 99 deaths.
Meanwhile, FlightRadar24 highlighted that the aircraft was over 15 years old and had an “old transponder with unreliable data.” The report said that the Yeti Airlines flight sent “erroneous altitude and speed data” throughout the journey.
The aircraft involved is a 15 year old ATR 72-500 with registration number 9N-ANC and serial number 754.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 15, 2023
This aircraft was equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. We are downloading high resolution data and verifying the data quality. pic.twitter.com/nnrpnnNnqj
Concerns about New Pokhara Airport
Apart from the flight and the airlines, questions are being raised about the newly constructed airport in Pokhara, which is situated 2,700 feet above sea level at the entry of the Annapurna mountain range.
The Pokhara International Airport’s inauguration was previously delayed over bird strike concerns to landing flights, as the runway is close to the Seti River. It was opened two weeks ago despite disquietude regarding the hazardous location. While authorities reassured that the inauguration was preceded by measures to ensure the safety of incoming and outgoing flights, there is no information about the exact measures.
Concerningly, the airport also needed a working instrument landing system, which authorities will only install on 26 February. The system is critical for pilots to land in low visibility. However, since the conditions on Sunday were not particularly unfavourable, it remains to be seen whether this contributed to the devastating crash.
History of Plane Accidents
This month’s crash was the 104th plane crash in Nepal and the third deadliest in the country. In July 1992, 113 died in an air crash and a similar disaster caused 167 deaths in September 1992.
Moments before the unfortunate Nepal crash earlier today.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 15, 2023
Source: Nepal media https://t.co/6QrOy9nhCz pic.twitter.com/257qAnKhyw
Being home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, Nepal has had frequent deadly crashes. Since the first flight crash in 1955, plane crashes have caused over 900 deaths in the country. In fact, 350 people have died in plane crashes since 2000.
Nepal ranks 33rd out of 207 countries by number of aircraft crashes from 1990 to 2023. It ranks 12th for the number of plane crash-related deaths in the same period.
The following is a list of fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 2012:
|
Airline Operator |
Year of Incident |
Fatalities |
|
Yeti Airlines |
2023 |
72 |
|
Tara Air |
2022 |
22 |
|
Summit Air |
2019 |
3 |
|
Makalu Air |
2018 |
2 |
|
US-Bangla Airlines |
2018 |
51 |
|
Nepal Army |
2017 |
1 |
|
Summit Air |
2017 |
2 |
|
Tara Air |
2016 |
23 |
|
Nepal Airlines |
2014 |
18 |
|
Sita Air |
2012 |
19 |
|
Agni Air |
2012 |
15 |
Factors Underlying Nepalese Crashes
A 2019 Aviation Safety Report attributed the frequent plane crashes to the “hostile topography” and “diverse weather patterns” that complicate journeys to Nepal’s remotely situated airports. In particular, the report noted that aircraft with 19 seats or fewer are more susceptible to accidents.
It further said that airports with short runways were prone to witnessing such crashes. For instance, the Pokhara International Airport’s runway is merely 45 metres wide and 2,500 metres long.
Additionally, Nepal performed poorly during the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme conducted between 2016 and 2018. The audit rated Nepal’s accident investigation parameter at 21.6%, significantly lower than the global average of 54.2%. It mentioned that the accident investigation record was extremely poor, with a broken feedback mechanism, which made it difficult for Nepalese aviation authorities to learn from their mistakes.
🚨 20 years
— Ananya Bhattacharya (@ananya116) January 16, 2023
🚨 15 deadly air crashes
🚨 315 people killed#Nepal has the world’s worst aviation history, and the #YetiAirlines crash only adds to its horrible flight record. https://t.co/ZpB2t6VqdU
To this end, speaking to Insider, Geoffrey Thomas, a field expert, said that the Nepalese aviation industry struggles with funding limitations, low-quality airports, and outdated navigation aids. For instance, the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal is located near the Mount Everest Base Camp at an altitude of about 9,334 feet, and has been called the “world’s most dangerous airport” due to its downhill runway.
International Response and Scepticism
These safety concerns have not gone unaddressed by the international community. For instance, in 2013, the EU banned Nepalese flights from entering its airspace. The block made the decision based on “safety information from various sources and a hearing both with the Nepalese aviation authorities as well as with a number of Nepalese carriers.”
Amid these concerns, in 2015, the ICAO prioritised Nepal for technical assistance. In 2017, the organisation confirmed that the situation had improved through coordinated capacity building and financial and technical support from countries and international organisations.
While there has been an improvement in the adherence to safety standards, in 2022, the ICAO gave Nepal an implementation score of 70.1%, just a few points higher than the global average of 67.2%.
Joint PRESS RELEASE - EU Delegation to Nepal and CAAN pic.twitter.com/KU4Ox5IYd6
— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) November 28, 2022
Despite these reassurances, the EU has retained its ban. While Nepal has tried to work towards the ban’s revocation, the bloc insists on Kathmandu splitting its civil aviation authority into an operating and regulatory body to enhance accountability, which Nepal has yet to comply with.
Way Forward
On the one hand, Nepalese authorities must expend more financial resources and deploy technical teams to improve safety standards. This can be done by modernising the existing aircraft designs, including the ATR-72.
The mountainous South Asian nation must follow suit of other countries, like New Zealand, which have equipped their aircraft with navigation systems and satellite guidance equipment. This can allow aircraft to land in snowstorms and fly through mountains “in precision of one metre.”
On the other hand, Nepal should not be isolated and targeted for its frequent flight crashes, given that several other countries, including the US and India, have a worse track record for plane crashes. Instead, governments must collaborate through knowledge-sharing, technological assistance, and financial support to allow Nepal to better equip its aviation industry and counter the topographical and institutional challenges that have caused the frequent disasters.