Mountain flight of Buddha Air crashed on September 25, 2011 in Nepal, killing all 19 aboard the plane. 16 passengers – 3 Nepalese,10 Indians, 2 Americans and 1 Japanese died in the incident along with the 3 flight crews. The flight was on its way back to Kathmandu after a tour of the Mount Everest region. According to an eyewitness, Haribol Poudel, the plane hit a roof of a house and broke into pieces. There has been no final confirmation on the cause of the crash but inclement weather could be a major factor. According to a meteorologist, Rajendra Shrestha, surrounding areas of Kathmandu were foggy and it was raining at the time of the crash.

You can see the video report by Telegraph UK at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/8787498/Everest-tourists-die-in-plane-crash.html

and the video by Associated Press at

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-25/nepal-plane-crash-mount-everest/50541670/1

Mountain flights are quite popular in Nepal. An hour-long flight takes you to Northeast region of Kathmandu where you can experience breathtaking views of the Himalayan range including the peak of Everest. Once the flight reaches a certain altitude, passengers are allowed to move around and take pictures of the mountain peaks. A unique attraction during the mountain flights (at least the one that I took last December which happened to be Buddha Air flight as well) was that the crew let you enter the cockpit briefly for a panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks. This could be a breathtaking experience.

Flying in Nepal could be risky due to the terrain. Nepal boasts the highest mountains in the world; but they could also be treacherous for mountain flights. Additionally, frequent fog and low visibility surrounding Kathmandu amplifies the risk for flying in Nepal. These could be some of the reasons there have been frequent crashes in the past. Some of the recent crashes were following:

August 2010
14 people died in Agni air domestic flight crash.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/plane-with-15-on-board-crashes-in-nepal/129477-2.html

December 2010
22 people died in Tara air crash that was on it’s way to Kathmandu.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/22-killed-in-nepal-plane-crash-15031894.html

October 2008
18 people died in Yeti Air crash when it crash landed in infamous Lukla’s sloping airport.
ttp://mg.co.za/article/2008-10-08-everest-plane-crash-kills-18-in-nepal

These were some of the recent crashes in Nepal but over the last decade there have been quite a few deaths due to plane crashes. Though it is easy to blame the weather conditions and treacherous terrain of Kathmandu, frequent crashes in Nepal could make one question whether safety measures are being strictly enforced.