Pilot age for STOL operation reduced

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 20: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has reduced the maximum age limit for the utilisation of the 'flight crew instructor' privilege in Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) operations to 60 years. This means that the pilot commanding planes flying to airports designated to be remote now cannot be more than 60 years old.

Previously, this age was 65 years. However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission formed to probe the Tara Air plane crash of May 29, 2022, found the need to limit the pilots' age to or below their 60th birthday, as possible and/or practical based on their physical and mental status, past accident and incident record and human factor analysis. Heeding this recommendation, the CAAN has introduced this rule which it says will come into effect from January 1, 2024. In the unfortunate Tara Air 9N-AET flight that crashed at Sanusare, Mustang, the commanding pilot was 62 years old.

In its final report, the accident investigation commission had noted that a pilot's skill and performance are affected by increasing age. While the CAAN has adopted the same standards as that of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regarding the maximum allowed age for pilots, this is not enough, the commission stressed, stating in the report that CAAN's standards need to be customised to the Nepali terrain and context.

The commission had also advised the CAAN to study and review the inadequacy in its medical requirements of ageing pilots.