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Air safety
There is no alternative to improving the quality of our country’s aviationIn yet another incident of disaster in Nepali skies, a Fishtail Air helicopter crashed into a cliff at Betini of Madanpur-9 in Nuwakot district on Monday afternoon. All the seven people on board, including Captain Ranjan Limbu and a five-day-old baby, were killed in the accident. The chopper was chartered to fly the baby from Gorkha to Kathmandu for treatment.
Sanjiv Gautam, director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan), said that the chopper burst into flames after a lethal collision with the cliff. The chopper’s wreckage was discovered at Betini at 5,300 feet with all the people burnt to death beyond recognition. Rescue efforts were apparently hobbled by dense fog and rain.
Flying is inherently risky in a mountainous country like ours, where pilots have to contend frequently with rugged terrain and erratic weather. Often, human error has been conveniently blamed for disasters in the past. For example, a government fact-finding committee, which investigated the crash in February of Tara Air Flight 193, stated last week that pilots deliberately entered cloud while operating under the VFR (Visual Flight Rules) system and deviated from the normal track due to the loss of situational awareness.
While the investigation of Monday’s crash will take some time to complete, preliminary reports suggest that the chopper had made its final contact with the air traffic controller at 12:32pm and had to circle over the Nuwakot skies many times. Gautam said that it had entered cloud and speculated that the captain might have lost situational awareness and control of the aircraft. However, a Tribhuvan International Airport official said that an aircraft that operates under the VFR system cannot enter cloud and that it might have forcefully tried to land in Kathmandu because it was carrying a patient.
It will be unfair to point the finger of suspicion at the pilot without a careful investigation. Questions about the helicopter’s condition to fly have already been raised, and naturally so. While a thorough investigation is no doubt necessary, it will mean little if Caan cannot plug the gaps in aviation safety.
Monday’s crash, the fourth in less than six months, comes as yet another blow to the country’s safety record. This is the 17th fatal chopper accident in Nepal since 1966 when the first crash happened. In 2013, Nepali airlines were put in the bad books of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) and the European Commission (EC). After the latest incident, getting the significant safety concern (SSC) tag removed will be even more difficult for Nepal.
Flying is and will likely remain an important mode of transportation in Nepal, given its difficult terrain and limited road connectivity. Private airline companies have played a vital role in facilitating access to Nepal’s remotest parts. They are also key to the country’s tourism industry. As such, there is no alternative to improving our aviation quality. While we have no control over weather patterns, we do have control over technology and human resources, factors that directly affect air safety.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outlier, has pointed out that air crashes occur because of the accumulation of many small problems. Bad weather, tired pilots, new or unfamiliar airports, crew members who have only recently started to work together—it often takes all of these things to cause a disaster. He writes, “the typical accident involves seven consecutive human errors.”
In Nepal, several disasters have occurred but the “core problem” does not seem to have been identified. If there is indeed such a problem, it is high time we found out what it is.