Following the chopper crash that killed seven officials including Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has announced measures for operational safety of helicopters flying the region.

In this regard, the country’s aviation experts are currently preparing VIP flight guidelines for choppers while also welcoming foreign experts to conduct operational safety assessments.

“We have given the helicopter safety team two weeks to prepare the VIP flight guideline. The guideline will basically incorporate flight planning, pilot experience to handle VIP flight movement and other required procedures related to weather and terrain,” CAAN Deputy DG Rajan Pokhrel said in a statement.

Pokharel further informed that the new measures are part of the International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 19 mandates for implementing safety management system.

According to officials, the new rule also enforces strict following of instructions even in case of emergencies that demand change in pilot’s decision.

It is noteworthy here that the recent crash of Air Dynasty chopper happened after the Captain Prabhakar KC reported “heavy snowfall and not able to airborne”.

However, KC proceeded further and had hit a mountain cliff. What forced the captain to proceed is the matter under probe!

“The new guideline will strictly enforce this rule and hopefully develop a culture to refuse to fly when the situation is not favorable,” adds Pokharel.

Load factor is another key aspect that the experts laid emphasis on! Towards this end, the regulator urged the operators of AS350 B3e helicopter to temporarily bring down the bench seat to the level of pilot’s seat in high-altitude conditions.

“Based on the experts’ advice that reducing load can increase choppers flying performance, we decided to reduce one seat from the AS350 B3e helicopters while flying in high-altitude areas,” said Pokhrel.

It is noteworthy that adverse climatic conditions is among the top reasons for flight crashes in Nepali air space!

The regulator also announced to stop flying choppers at a helipad in Gorak Shep, located at 5,164 metres elevation near Everest Base Camp, owing to the region’s fast-changing weather conditions.

“We have asked the operators to find an alternative to Gorak Shep. We will assess the new area before allowing helicopters to perform their operation from the new base,” Pokharel informed.

The latest decision is coming in the light of debate over growing number of chopper crashes in Nepali airspace.

Hope the new regulations would come as savior in controlling the unexpected air accidents.

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The incident directly pointed at all such crashes that have created havoc over the period.

The latest crash of Air Dynasty helicopter was surprisingly the second one in the last six months period.

Looking at this, one can understand the frequency of air crashes in the Nepali air space!

This has given rise to a serious doubt: ‘Why these many happenings?’

As the records show, 19 horrifying helicopter crashes have occurred till date since the time the aviation authority started maintaining records in 1966.

The latest incident has come at a time when the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been effortlessly working to introduce safety reforms in the country’s civil aviation!

The occurrence of new incident was attributed to bad weather conditions. But it’s not the only incident, there are two such!

A year back, ‘Altitude Air Crash’ took place in Mailung Pakha (Meghang Rural Municipality) of Nuwakot district, claiming lives of six people.

Exactly three years back, a Fishtail Air helicopter also crashed in Nuwakot district after hitting a cliff, killing seven people on board.

What’s common in all these three incidents was the pilot’s driving behavior to adverse climatic conditions. In its report on the Fishtail Air crash, the Tourism Department had also confirmed the same citing ‘pilot’s stress’ to climatic condition and ‘failure to manage control after entering clouds’

Source: NepalInData

Adverse Climate Aside, Regulatory Gaps Exist!

According to airport officials, Prabhakar KC, Captain of Air Dynasty helicopter, had initially reported the adverse situation saying, “Heavy snowfall. Not able to airborne.”

But what made him change his decision and finally fly is the real matter of concern, feels Gunjaman Lama, a retired Brigadier General in the Nepal Army, who helps CAAN in inspecting helicopter operations.

Lama, who holds rich experience in flying VIPs and VVIPS, explains that the new generation pilots (particularly in operating helicopters run by private operators), tend to agree with everything they are told with regard to flight procedures.

 “Although they are trained and professionally taught to say ‘no’ when the situation is not favorable, no one follows the rule,” says Lama.

Despite Timely Warnings, Strict Orders!

Speaking on the latest incident, another senior CAAN official said, “We don’t know whether the pilot was forced to fly or if he made a decision to take the risk himself.”

“But the mistakes are committed repeatedly,” says Lama, adding that CAAN has been informing its pilots about threat in entering clouds while flying.

Towards this end, CAAN had also issued orders warning pilots with the cancellation of their license if found entering clouds during flight.

Now, the latest incident comes as a question to the issued orders, especially for flights involving young pilots with just hours of flying experience.

KC was too young to fly VIP choppers, says a senior pilot at privately-owned chopper company.

“KC was a disciplined professional and he was not an aggressive pilot. But he may have felt the pressure to operate the chopper and fly them to a lower altitude destination because he was carrying high-profile individuals, including his own boss,” said Ashish Sherchan, owner of Kailash Helicopters.

Besides choppers, there are also few incidents involving twin-engine passenger aircraft.

“We are equally focused on maintaining the safety of both chopper and twin-engine aircraft operations. But, since the operational requirement of choppers are different and are basically chartered, the operators must be more liable for passenger safety,” says Rajan Pokhrel, Department of Nepal aviation Safety.

As per the statistics show, at least four new helicopter companies have begun operations in Nepal in the last two years, giving rise to the number of private chopper companies to 10.

On an end note, Lama adds that younger pilots should be given proper training to acknowledge risks before they fly along with abilities to push back in intense-pressure situations.

“What they have to learn is, they always have another day to fly,” says Lama.

Now, its high time for the CAAN and the Nepal Government to chalk out plans to avoid similar incidents in future.

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In a recent move, the government has reportedly decided to engage technical experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to offer R&D support to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in its upgradation activities.

According to Deputy Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokhrel, the CAAN board has already approved the proposal and forwarded the same to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for final nod from the Ministry of Finance.

The project under proposal comes in the background of ICAO’s assistance to Nepal under its #AirSafetyFund that strives for civil aviation safety globally, and Nepal holds 25 percent contribution in the Rs. 10 million Safety Fund.

CAAN Split & Nepal Aviation’s Progress
The latest decision to engage ICAO experts comes in the background of CAAN’s split into two different wings as service provider and regulator.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has already prepared the draft Integrated Civil Aviation Bill that envisages the split process and is expecting the Cabinet’s approval for the same by October 2018.

According to Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, Joint Secretary at Tourism Ministry, the draft still requires some changes related to legal aspects as recommended by the Law Ministry. “We are preparing to send the draft to the Law Ministry again,” adds Buddhi Sagar.

Following approval, the government will hold consultations on issues pertaining to management of personnel and division of liabilities & organizational properties, to be handled by #ICAOExperts.

The proposal to split CAAN has its roots at a technical committee meeting of the European Commission held in Brussels, Belgium in January 2017, where CAAN officials and the Tourism Ministry updated the Commission about Nepal’s progress in tackling air safety issues.

Approval of the proposed bill will replace the existing Civil Aviation Act 1959 and Nepal Civil Aviation Authority Act 1996.

As per the draft bill, CAAN will continue its role as a regulator controlling technical operations and the new airport and Air Navigation Services division will function as a service provider in handling security & infrastructure development, tax collection and traffic control at the airports.

The decision comes in line with the ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme that recommends split of CAAN for effective functioning of #NepalAviationSector.

Aviation Safety Report 2018
In its Aviation Safety Report 2018, CAAN reported a significant progress in the country’s aviation sector with regard to enhancement of #airsafety capability and air operation & maintenance, among other factors.

The report recorded a decline in number of air safety issues to 159 by 2017 from 192 in 2016.

“We have strictly abided by the #InternationalCivilAviation Organization (ICAO)’s #GlobalAviationSafety plan,” said Birendra Shrestha, CAAN Spokesperson citing the report.

He further added that the authority will continue its efforts till the country’s aviation sector is deemed ‘safe’.

The report also noted that #NepalAviation succeeded in resolving significant safety concern raised by ICAO after its validation mission in 2013.

“Similarly, effective implementation of #ICAOSafetyStandards and guidance have also been raised above the global average,” the report said, indicating a rise in CAAN’s performance growth over the years from 43 per cent in 2009 to 55 per cent in 2013 and 66.08 percent in 2017.

According to Shrestha, #CAAN has also unveiled a four-year aviation safety plan to continue its aviation safety performance to develop harmonized safety strategy and implementation to address fatalities and related risks.

Hope, the new changes in CAAN’s organizational structure through #ICAO assistance will add to the future progress of Nepal’s aviation sector.

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In its updated air safety list released on December 01, 2017, the agency under the European Commission (EC) placed Nepal among 16 other nations that were prohibited from flying in the 28-nation bloc of the European Union (EU).

“All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Nepal have been banned from operating within EU,” reads a statement by the European Agency.

A total of 178 airlines were banned from flying in EU bloc as per the new list. These include 18 Nepali air carriers.

The list was prepared based on the feedback of aviation safety experts of the EU member states under the EU Air Safety Committee (EASC) chaired by EC and supported by the European Aviation Safety Agency, at a meeting held during November 13-15, 2017.

EU’s recent announcement comes as a disappointment to Nepali Airlines Corporation (NAC) that has been keen on launching its services in EU.

EU’s ban continues despite the lift of a ban by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Nepali airlines owing to their non-compliance to ICAO’s eight critical protocols.

ICAO later excluded Nepal from its Significant Safety Concern (SSC) list in July 20, 2017 supporting Nepali Airlines Corporation’s move to launch flights in Europe.

Need for Improvement in Air Safety Concerns

Stakeholders of the Nepali aviation sector feel that EU’s move might be a consequence of the Nepali Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation’s (MoCA) decision to summon the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General.

However, EC clarified that the assessment was made considering the international and ICAO’s safety standards.

“Why did responsible senior officials fail to approach EC to defend Nepal during the safety committee deliberations?” questions a Nepal Airlines Corporation official in response to the decision.

The official further informed that Nepali airlines are capable of meeting the international standards and the issues arose because of the lack of improvement in the concerned regulatory body operating under MoCA.

The official was disappointed at the arrival of such decision at a time when the country is aiming at one million annual tourist target and NAC is keen on operating two wide-body aircraft to European countries.

EASC’s next meeting to announce the air safety update list will take place during May-June 2018.

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