It's perhaps too early to speculate about the reasons behind Wednesday's crash of the Tara Air Twin Otter at Sole Ghoptebhir of Myagdi district, killing all 23 passengers on board. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the aircraft was brand new. Whatever the cause, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolence to the grieving families. But these aviation accidents do hint of the risks associated with flying in the difficult terrains of Nepal. These risks could be reduced if the country took aviation safety seriously. These accidents are happening with troubling frequency. Exactly two years ago another Twin Otter belonging to Nepal Airlines had crashed at Masinelek of Arghakhanchi, killing 18 people on board. Before that, in May, 2012, Agni Air's Dornier aircraft had crashed near the Jomsom airport, killing 15 Indian nationals. Wednesday's was the eighth crash of a small aircraft in Nepal in the past seven years. This was one reason why the European Union in 2013 decided to ban Nepal-based airlines from flying in its airspace. Three years down the line, the EU is yet to be assured that Nepali skies are safe.Wednesday's accident will only add to their safety concerns. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN-affiliated global airspace regulator, had in its 2013 audit flagged a number of problem areas in civil aviation in Nepal. One of its major concerns was regarding the failure of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Nepal's airline regulator, to implement recommendations of the committees set up to investigate plane crashes in Nepal. For example the committee set up to investigate the 2012 crash of Agni Air Dornier—which, incidentally, was flying on the same Pokhara-Jomsom route on which Wednesday's accident took place—had held the pilots responsible. According to the committee report, the inexperienced pilots failed to respond to an in-flight emergency on time. In fact, 50 percent of all air crashes in the world happen due to pilot error, and the same is true in Nepal's case as well. But even after so many of these crashes, Nepali pilots often have to fly planes in which they have little flight time, and on new and difficult routes.
This is not to suggest that pilot error was also behind Wednesday's crash. We only wish to highlight the low priority accorded to air safety in Nepal. Another example of such glaring oversight is continuing to allow restaurants which recklessly discard inedible animal parts to operate around the Tribhuvan International Airport. The carrion birds these discarded animal parts attract have been responsible for many near-accidents as well as the (possibly avoidable) Sita Air crash near TIA in 2012 that killed all 19 people on board. The failure of our aviation authorities to ensure even these seemingly simple safety measures is an indication of their uncaring attitude. A deadly accident takes place, the media cries itself hoarse about safety oversights, the authorities swing into action, an investigation team is quickly formed—and then, everything is conveniently forgotten. By the time the team comes out with its investigation report, the hullaballoo has already died down and the government of the day simply shelves it. Such oversight costs precious lives. It is about time we devised a mechanism to make it mandatory for the government to implement such post-crash reports. Otherwise this vicious cycle of death will continue.
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