Why Is It So Risky To Fly In Nepal?

(CNN) Losing a plane carrying 22 people in Nepal has highlighted the dangers of air travel in a country that is often referred to as one of the most risky places in the world to fly.When the Tara Air flight crashed into the Himalayan Mountain at an altitude of about 14,500 feet on Sunday was the 19th Nepal aircraft accident in 10 years and fatal -10th during the same period, according to the flight safety network database.While the investigators still unite exactly what happened – the black box was found on Tuesday, airport officials told CNN – experts said conditions such as changing weather patterns, low visibility and mountainous topography all contributed to Nepal’s reputation as a place which is famous for being dangerous to fly.

On this occasion in particular, bad weather was considered to have played a role, Binod B.K., an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs Nepal, told CNN. Estimated weather for Pokhara at that time, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Nepal, “Generally Cloudy With Short Lightning.”Passenger family members on the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Tara Air crying outside the airport in Pokhara on May 29.
Passenger family members on the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Tara Air crying outside the airport in Pokhara on May 29.

The Tara Air plane took off Sunday morning from the city of Pokhara, in Central Nepal, and about half the way to flight 25 minutes to the popular tourism destination Jomsom when losing contact with Air Control, said Nepal Civil Aviation Authority.Bad weather, bad visibility and loss of during the day all hampered the search and rescue operations by the Nepal Military, but the helicopter sent to the mountainous terrain helped find debris from the accident site allegedly on Monday and the first corpse was found. Photos and videos released by the army performances from the aircraft spread across the ground.

On Tuesday, despite the ongoing bad weather, the savior announced that they had found all the bodies.
Hostile topography ‘Changed weather patterns are not the only problem for flight operations. According to the 2019 safety report from the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, the “hostile topography” of the country is also part of the “big challenge” faced by the pilot.Nepal, a country with a population of 29 million people, is home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Everest, and its rough scenery makes it a popular tourist destination for trekker.

But this terrain can be difficult to be navigated from the air, especially during bad weather, and everything becomes worse by the need to use small aircraft to access parts of a more remote country and mountains.
The aircraft with 19 seats or less likely had an accident because of this challenge, said the Civil Aviation Authority Report.The capital of Kathmandu is the main transit center of Nepal, from which many of these small flights leave.The airport in Lukla City, in Northeast of Nepal, is often referred to as the most dangerous airport in the world. Known as The Gateway to Everest, the runway of the airport is placed on a cliff between the mountain, falling directly to the abyss at the end.

Lack of investment in old aircraft only adds to the risk of flying.In 2015, an international civil aviation organization, a UN agency, prioritized helping Nepal through its flight safety implementation partnership. Two years later, Icao and Nepal announced partnerships to solve safety problems.While the country in recent years has made improvements in its safety standards, challenges still exist.In 2016, Tara Air flights crashed while flying the same route as a plane that was lost on Sunday. The incident involved the newly obtained twin aircraft that flew in clear conditions.And, in early 2018, the US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed into landing and burning, killing 51 of 71 people in it.