Researched by: Sara Varghese & Prafula Grace Busi

First, tell me about this crash…

The crash: On Sunday, a small Tara Air aircraft carrying 22 people on board disappeared—after taking off at 9:55 am. It was on a 30-minute flight from the city of Pokhara to the village of Jomsom on the Tibet border. There were 19 passengers—13 Nepalis, four Indians and two German trekkers—and three crew members. 

The search: took nearly 20 hours due to bad weather. The plane was finally located yesterday—and appeared to have crashed into a mountainside at an altitude of 14,500 feet. Twenty one bodies have been recovered—and there is no hope for survivors. The bodies were “scattered over a 100-metre radius from the main impact point,” and were in “unrecognisable condition.”

A deadly replay: In 2012, 15 of the 21 people aboard an Agni Air flight died—when their aircraft was unable to land at Jomsom, and was turning back to Pokhara. In 2016, a similar Tara Air crash on the same route—which cuts through a high-altitude valley—claimed 23 lives. In that case, the pilot flew into dense clouds—and disregarded audio warnings. He then became disoriented and flew straight into a mountain.

One big reason for this tragic history:

“[A]ir routes near the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, have navigation aids that guide modern planes equipped with advanced instruments, but the northern route to Jomsom requires pilots to fly by hand, using their own eyesight. Pilots are supposed to turn back if they cannot see the terrain, Singh added, but clouds can suddenly form in the area and pilots sometimes disregard protocols because they are under pressure to complete a scheduled flight.”

Key point to note: The remote, mountainous village of Jomsom is a tourist destination for trekkers and pilgrims to the nearby Muktinath temple. Past visitors have included PM Modi, as well. But tourists making the trip have to take older, twin-engine planes on one of the most dangerous air routes in the country.

So these airline crashes are common in Nepal?

It is considered one of the dangerous parts of the world to take a flight. The data tells the sorry tale:

• According to a 2018 report, there were 27 fatal plane crashes over three decades—almost one per year.
• But that crash rate has increased in recent years. There have now been 12 tragedies in the past 12 years. And nine fatal accidents—including one helicopter crash—since 2010.
• In 2013, the EU banned Nepali airlines from entering Europe—due to safety concerns. At that time—between 2008 and 2012—there were an average of two air crashes a year. The immediate catalyst being a Sita Air crash in 2013 that killed 19 people.
• A 2022 global ranking of airline safety ranks the national carrier—Nepal Airlines—at the bottom of the list. It received only one star—along with Pakistan International Airlines, Air Algerie and others.

Point to note: Tara Air’s own record doesn’t inspire confidence either. In its very first year of operation, 22 people died in a fatal accident in eastern Nepal. And then, of course, there’s the 2016 crash on the Jomsom route which resulted in 23 deaths.

Not just Nepali airlines: To be fair, this isn’t just a problem with the country’s aircraft or pilots. There have been serious accidents involving foreign airlines. In 1992, there were two crashes involving Pakistan International Airlines and Thai Airways—which resulted in 167 and 113 deaths respectively. In 2018, the Bangladeshi carrier US-Bangla crash-landed in Kathmandu—claiming the lives of 49 people aboard.

Why is Nepal so unsafe?

The reasons include poor regulation and training, and ageing fleets—all of which become even more perilous in a country with such dangerous terrain. 

Dangerous terrain: The mountain kingdom may boast stunning vistas, but they are also perilous to navigate. Take the example of Kathmandu—home to the national airport. The Tribhuvan airport sits in a narrow valley—1,338 metres above sea level. And it has only one runway—which means pilots spend far too much time circling above. The airport also lacks the required radar technology to help them navigate the tight space. So they are forced to land using visual cues—relying on something called a non-precision approach.

The situation is even worse in other parts of the country. Most of Nepal’s crashes have occured when pilots in small planes attempt to land planes on to small runways at these airports. The Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla in northeast Nepal is often referred to as the “world’s most dangerous airport”. It too has a single runway that “angles down” toward a valley. The pilot has to “navigate through narrow mountain gorges before landing on a steep runway just 500 metres (yards) long with precipitous drops on either side.” You can see how insanely challenging this is below:

FYI: Eighteen passengers and crew died when a Yeti Airlines turboprop crashed there in 2008.

Point to note: Once you land in Kathmandu, you have to take smaller aircraft to other parts of the country. These are turboprop planes that are far more vulnerable to bad weather.

Low investment: As we noted, Nepal’s airports do not possess sophisticated radar technology—even though it has 11 domestic airlines. Plans to upgrade airports at major tourist destinations like Pokhara and Lumbini have been in limbo for years. And some experts accuse the government of not learning from past crashes. The negligence is likely due to a lack of resources:

“In Nepal there are some very tough choices about where the government is spending its money... they are very aware that an expensive investigation means less money spent on other things.”

The fleets in Nepal also tend to be old and badly maintained. The Twin Otter plane that crashed in Jomsom was 40 years old.

Weak regulation: Nepalese aviation authorities are notoriously lax in oversight of their domestic airlines—which often results in poorly trained pilots. For example, a helicopter—carrying VIPs including the CEO of Tara Air and the tourism minister—crashed because there was no attempt to follow even basic operating procedures. These included “disbalance of weights due to the positioning of the fuel tank and the incorrect seating arrangements of passengers.” But each time a tragedy occurs, Nepalese authorities blame pilot error.

Not helping: The incestuous nature of the aviation industry in Nepal. Government officials routinely schmooze with airline bosses. And the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is itself in violation of global standards. The EU blacklisted Nepal precisely because CAAN has both regulatory powers—to oversee safety etc—and provides key services, like building airports. All of which results in conflicts of interest such as this:

“The existing system allows the… director general to issue tenders for multi-billion dollar projects. The same person also has the plum job of overseeing compliance with the project and the aviation regulations governing the issuance of licences to airlines and crews.”

Reason for hope: A recent UN audit of Nepal’s air safety indicates a “remarkable improvement.”

The bottomline: If you’re planning to drive on your next trip to Nepal, please be advised its roads are no less lethal.

Reading list

New York Times and Washington Post have the most details about the recent crash. Independent, Bloomberg News and The Print have more on why Nepal is dangerous. Indian Express has more on previous crashes. Aviation Nepal has the details of the latest UN audit.