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.

The post Nepal Air Crashes: ‘Why many happenings?’ appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

A recent update informed about Nepal Airlines Corporation’s (NAC) plans to begin its flight operations to Japan from September 2018.

Under the plan, Nepal will be operating three weekly flights to Tokyo.

The Nepal Tourism Ministry has already assigned seven weekly flights to fly from Nepal to Tokyo Narita International Airport or Tokyo Narita Airport.

However, NAC is keen on resuming its services only after having its awaited two long-range Airbus A330 jets on board, one of which has arrived on June 28, 2018.

We are making necessary arrangements like appointing general sales agents to begin flights by September, says Rabindra Shrestha, NAC Spokesperson.

 
Revised Agreements Give New Boost

The latest update is coming as a follow-up to the revised Air Service Agreement (ASA) signed between Nepal and Japan on June 18, 2018.

Under the revised agreement, the two sides decided to increase the number of flights from Nepal to Japan by seven-fold, from twice a week to 14 weekly flights allowing aircraft of any type on a reciprocal basis.

“After the government gives the go-ahead, the national flag carrier will formally apply for operating authorization at Narita International Airport with the Japanese Government,” says Pramod Nepal, Under Secretary at the Ministry.

Prior to this, NAC prepared to resume its flights to the Kansai International Airport in Osaka owing to the old ASA that doesn’t allow operations in other Japanese airports.

Now, the revised ASA comes as a relief allowing NAC to fly its airplanes to Narita International and other Japanese airports as well.

It is noteworthy here that Narita and Kansai International Airports alone account for 68 percent of the air traffic from Japan to Nepal.

77% Rise in Air Traffic

A 2015 Air Traffic Analysis report by Airbus shows a 77 percent rise in air traffic from Japan to Nepal in the last five years period (from nearly 48,000 one-way travellers).

Meanwhile, Nepal received 27,326 Japanese tourists in 2017 and has also seen a rise in the number of its people living in Japan exceeding 60,000 compared to 31,531 as of 2013.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the number of Nepalis in Japan is going to increase further in the future in the light of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

Also Read:Nepal Airlines Update: Japan Opens All Air Gates for Nepal Flights

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