Tragic Plane Crash

It is quite worrying that Nepal has witnessed one more air crash within a period of eight months. A 72-seater ATR aircraft of a private sector domestic carrier, Yeti Airlines, crashed into the Seti River gorge close to the old airport in Pokhara at 10:50 am on Sunday, with bodies of the 68 people on board recovered on Sunday and the rest of the victims presumed killed. The ill-fated plane was flying to Pokhara from Kathmandu with 68 passengers and four crew members. The flight had left the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu at 10:32 am. At 10:50 am the aircraft had last come in contact with the Pokhara International Airport (PIA). But within 10 seconds, the NYT 691 aircraft with call sign 9N-ANC crashed into the Seti River located at Nayagaon of Gharipatan in the Pokhara Metropolitan City-15 of Kaski district when it was in the process of landing. Those killed in the accident included 53 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, France and Argentina. 

This is the worst plane crash involving a domestic flight in Nepal. The plane met with accident during its third consecutive flight to the same destination. The airplane had made its first flight at 8:05 am. The aircraft was flown by senior instructor pilot Kamal KC, accompanied by co-pilot Anju Khatiwada, together with two air hostesses -- Osin Ale Magar and Srijana Hongchun. Though the Nepal Police, Nepali Army and Armed Police Force (APF) personnel were deployed at the air crash site immediately to carry out search and rescue operations, no life could be saved. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) mobilised two helicopters, an air ambulance, medical support and other vehicles for search and rescue works. The search and rescue of the missing was continuing on Monday.

The Pokhara International Airport has come into operation since January 1 this year. The latest air crash has raised a lot of safety concerns and questions at a time when the Nepal government has been lobbying hard with the European Union (EU), calling on the latter to remove Nepal from its air safety list. Citing safety issues, the EU has banned Nepali airlines from flying into the European skies since December 2013. This ban has affected the country's tourism industry badly. No doubt, the CAAN, Nepali airlines and other relevant agencies have taken the matter seriously and done their bits to improve air safety.  This crash, however, has affected the nation's destination image abroad. The government has formed a commission that will probe into the accident and submit its report within 45 days. In the past too, probe panel used to be constituted so as to find out causes of each air crash.

But the government, CAAN and other relevant bodies are blamed for not implementing the recommendations made by such panels in an effective manner. As the Black Box of the aircraft has now been recovered, it may be easier for the probe team to bring the truth to light as to what led to this crash. The government has directed the authorities concerned to conduct technical tests of all domestic flights to help prevent possible technical drawbacks and risks. The nation also observed one-day national mourning on Monday (January 16) over deaths of passengers and crew members in the plane crash.