Tragic crash in Nepal's Pokhara: Himalayan nation home to world's most dangerous airports

Nepal saw a terrifying incident involving crash of a Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72-500 aircraft flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara a little distance away from Pokhara International Airport. plane was carrying 72 flyers comprising 68 passengers and four crew members. frequency of dangerous incidents related to aviation in Nepal has been a matter of concern for a long period. crash on Sunday, January 15 marked Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years with country averaging almost one fatal crash every year in last three decades.

Nepal is home to tallest mountains in Himalayan range and abundance of remote topography in country demands use of aerial vehicles in mountaius terrain, especially for logistic, rescue and relief purposes. unique geographical location of Nepal along with its volatile wear has always posed a challenge to field of Nepali aviation. This has resulted in country being kwn for its torious airports and landing pads which are considered some of most dangerous in world.

Himalayan country boasts some of most remote and tricky runways that make for beautiful scenery and a breath-taking view. However, y test even most skillful pilots as constant wear change coupled with strong winds results in treacherous flying conditions. Along with mountaius terrain, aviation experts have also blamed lack of sophisticated radar techlogy in country and poor regulation with lack of investment in aviation industry, as factors to numerous plane crashes in country’s history.

(Im: Civil Aviation Authority Nepal)

Nepal’s main aerial hub in its capital Kathmandu, Tribhuvan International Airport serves as a primary gateway which is used by tourists and locals to take lighter aircrafts mostly operated by domestic carriers to reach or cities which are situated in remote parts of country. Some of Nepal’s deadliest crashes have taken place at Tribhuvan airport itself which is perched 1,338 metres above sea level. Surrounded by high jagged mountains, aeroplanes have a difficult time maeuvring sudden turns within confined to land safely. se lighter and smaller planes are more affected by strong wear conditions in Nepal.

ATR planes have been involved in several accidents in past

type of plane involved in Pokhara crash on Sunday, ATR 72, has been used by several airlines around world for short regional flights. Introduced in late 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, aircraft model has been involved in several deadly accidents over years. In 2018, an ATR 72 operated by Iran’s Aseman Airlines crashed in a foggy, mountaius region, killing all 65 aboard.

ATR identified plane involved in Sunday’s crash as an ATR 72-500 in a tweet. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, aircraft was 15 years old and “equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.” Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, company spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

Europe blacklists 20 Nepali airlines

Many global regulators have taken tice of lack of civil aviation infrastructure and invation in Nepal. European Commission has banned more than 20 Nepali airlines and has prohibited m from flying into Europe citing safety concerns. This ban includes Yeti airlines.

European Union in a joint press release to Nepal and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on vember 28, 2022, said that y had decided to keep Nepali airlines on ‘EU Air Safety List’ for time being. Highlighting National Aviation Safety Plan (2023 to 2025) proposed by CAAN, EU said, “Regulation on functional separation of CAAN's regulatory and service provider roles has been assessed. w, implementation of this new regulation, as well as progress in aligning CAAN's safety oversight capacity with relevant international safety standards, must be verified through an EU on-site assessment visit to Nepal.”

European Commission said that it intended to carry out, with assistance of European Union Aviation Safety ncy (EASA) and support of Member States, a visit to Nepal in coming months. European Commission “will continue to work closely with CAAN in order to assist, where possible, in Nepal's efforts to improve aviation safety situation in country, whilst at same time ensuring that any potential safety risks to travelling public are contained.”

most dangerous airport in world

Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla in rth-east region of Nepal is often touted as world’s most dangerous airport. It has a single runway, on one end re's a wall and at or a steep drop into valley below. In 2008, 18 passengers and crew died when a Yeti Airlines turboprop plane crashed.  

tiny Himalayan settlement of Lukla in Nepal is at 9,383 feet above sea level. At this altitude air density is considerably lower than at sea level and impacts speed of plane making it hard to slow down. At high altitudes, longer runway, better.

But at Lukla airport, runway is extremely short at just 526 metres. Many international airports around planet boast runways which are more than 3,000 metres long. re is also matter of missed approaches which allows pilot to retry landing if y miss it, but at Lukla airport once an aircraft approaches, it has to touch down.