Nevertheless, years later, the same problem persists. The European Commission (EC) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation of the United Nations (ICAO) have urged since 2009 to end this conflict of interest by splitting up the authority. Because of this, there is a conflict of interest, particularly with regard to the standards that govern safety. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is responsible for both the provision of services and the regulation of aviation in Nepal. In addition to unfriendly weather, hostile geographical circumstances and antiquated equipment, the aviation body itself is another problem.

The technology, or lack thereof, is dangerous to be flying in a place like Nepal.'Īs a consequence of previous tragedies and because of the poor state of the aviation industry in Nepal, Nepalese airlines have been barred by the European Commission from entering European airspace since 2013. Last year, Captain Bed Upreti, an experienced Nepalese pilot, told The Guardian, 'We can't afford to keep flying aircraft that are 43 years old. It lacked the kind of cutting-edge equipment that would have enabled the pilot to get critical information about the environment. The maiden flight of this single-engine aircraft took place in 1979. In May 2022, the Tara Air aircraft that went down soon after taking off from Pokhara was a DHC-6-300 Twin Otter. Moreover, the plane had an outdated transponder that provided inaccurate data, FlightRadar24 posted on Twitter. The majority of these aircraft are not equipped with the advanced technology, such as radar or GPS, which would be helpful in overcoming difficulties caused by poor visibility or adverse weather conditions.įor instance, according to the flight monitoring website FlightRadar24, the age of the aircraft that had crashed was 15 years. Domestic air travel in Nepal is carried out mostly by aircraft that are way past their prime.

The Sunday tragedy brought to light once again the dismal safety record of Nepal's aviation industry, more notably for its local flights. Moreover, since the turn of this century, at least 309 people have been killed in aircraft or helicopter accidents in Nepal.

In addition, it was the seventh accident on this route – Kathmandu to Pokhara – in the last three decades. This was the last major air tragedy to occur in Nepal.Īccording to the Guardian, Sunday was the 104th accident since 1955. On 29 May last year, a Tara Air plane crashed in the Mustang of Nepal, taking the lives of all 22 passengers onboard. The accident resulted in the deaths of 51 of the 71 persons who were on board. At the beginning of 2018, an aircraft operated by US-Bangla Airlines from Bangladesh's capital city of Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire.

Flight of Fire by Tara D.W. Tine