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Journalism of Courage
Eighteen people have been killed after a Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft crashed during takeoff on Wednesday (July 24) morning at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The aircraft, which belonged to regional carrier Saurya Airlines, was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians from Nepal’s capital to the city of Pokhara for maintenance checks. Only pilot Manish Shankya survived the crash — he is currently being treated at a nearby hospital for a head injury.
Nepal is notorious for its poor aviation safety record with multiple factors — the country’s challenging mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, aging aircraft, poor infrastructure, and inadequate regulatory oversight — leading to frequent accidents.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), in a press release, said that the ill-fated aircraft took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport at 11.11 am (Nepal Standard Time) on Wednesday. “Shortly after takeoff from runway 02, the aircraft veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway,” the press release said.
According to eyewitness accounts, as quoted in The Kathmandu Post, the plane flipped after the wing-tip hit the ground during takeoff. Witnesses said that the aircraft immediately caught fire, and plunged deep into a gorge to the east of the runway. Multiple videos doing rounds on social media show the aircraft flying slightly above the runway before banking sharply to one side and crashing.
It is still unclear what led to the crash. Some experts who have reviewed the footage of the incident have said that behind the crash was what is known as a ‘climb failure’. The plane was unable to successfully climb gain altitude after takeoff.
This can happen due to a number of reasons including engine failure (the sharp bank could have been caused by one engine failing/stalling), faulty pre-flight planning (the plane was heavier than expected), other technical issues, or even pilot error. A proper investigation will shed further light into exactly what was behind the mishap on Wednesday.
Conditions on the airport, however, not all too bad. It is the monsoon season in Kathmandu, but it was not raining at the time of the crash although visibility was low across the capital.
According to the Geneva-based Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A), Nepal has seen 68 aviation accidents since 1946, which have claimed a total of 900 lives. The Aviation Safety Network puts the number of fatal accidents (since 1919) at 41, with 878 total fatalities.
These numbers are very high, when taking into account the relatively low number of flights Nepal has seen takeoff or land on its soil. The rugged mountainous terrain, dearth of investment in new planes and infrastructure, and poor regulation have contributed to these crashes.
In Nepal, airstrips are often precariously placed on plateaus or cut mountains. They require a high degree of skill to land on, and are conducive to frequent accidents simply on the basis of pilot errors. Smaller runways are also capable of handling lighter, often single-engine, aircraft. These, however, are more susceptible to inclement weather which is common across Nepal.
The Kathmandu airport too is challenging for pilots. Although it boasts a relatively longer 3,350 m runway (compared to other Nepalese airports) allowing heavier aircraft to operate, this is still shorter than most major international airports. Given the altitude (1,338 m) at which the airport is located, this is more of a challenge — in higher altitudes, aircraft need more speed to takeoff due to the thinner air.
Moreover, constructed in the narrow, oval-shaped Kathmandu valley, the airport is sandwiched between jagged high mountains on all sides. This means pilots have less room in which to maneouvre their aircraft. The mountains also impact local weather conditions, and can lead to sudden turbulence and weather changes.
According to reports, many of the aircraft operating in Nepal are aging and lack world class maintenance. Many lack equipment and facilities which are nowadays considered standard in other countries.
This is why all Nepal-based aircraft were banned from entering European airspace by the European Union in 2013. The Kathmandu Post reported in 2022 that behind the ban (which is still active) was the Nepal government’s failure to act on improving aviation safety regulation and its implementation.
Central to this problem is the fact that Nepal’s aviation regulator, CAAN, is also the country’s primary service provider in the areas of ‘air navigation services’ and ‘aerodrome operations’. This is a serious conflict of interest because effectively, CAAN is policing its own operations. In India, for example, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the regulator whereas the Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides air-navigation services and runs airports.
