Nepal, a story of death that prevails in the air. Since 1960, when the first flight descended to impact the surface, more than 900 people have died in plane crashes. Less than a year later, another incident of this type takes dozens of lives.
The 72 fatalities left by the recent tragedy of the Yeti Airlines plane, demonstrates the precariousness of air transport security in the Asian country, for which it has even been sanctioned by international organizations.
In this sense, the Aviation Safety Network established that the fatal incident on January 15 is the worst air accident in the last three decades and the third among all those that occurred in Nepal.
The closest mishap in that territory occurred just months ago. At the end of May 2022, the images would go around the world, 22 people lost their lives in the fateful aerial event.
Likewise, in 2018, 49 people would die on BS 211 flight, which was moving from Dhaka, Bangladesh, when it also tried to land at the Kathmandu airport in Nepal, but ended up impacting chaotically on the ground.
Given the constant risks that precede Nepal, different agencies would take action. The European Union in 2013, prevented the entry of its airlines to the countries that make up the block of the old continent.
In this context, the United Nations Organization (UN) through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in collaboration with Nepal, would specify a resolution in 2017 that would help reduce deficiencies in airline operations.
“By resolving this issue, through coordinated capacity-building action and the support of donor States and international organizations, ICAO and Nepal have contributed to further improving safety in Nepal,” Olumuyiwa Benard said at the time. Aliu, representative of the ICAO Council.
However, accidents do not stop in Nepal, despite international monitoring that has tried to provide solutions to the danger that the situation represents.
The truth is that added to the deficiencies in the investment of aircraft that are in precarious states, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has described that the «hostile topography» constitutes one of the adverse factors for the safety of flights.
The attraction of this site is closely related to one of the keys that explains the constant air tragedies.
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Located in the area of the impressive Himalayas, Nepal has 8 of the most imposing mountains on Earth, and boasts a terrain with the steepest slopes that can exist, which, in combination with its unstable climate, positions it as one of the most dangerous places to fly.
Located in the city of Lukla, as if defying death, is one of the airports considered one of the deadliest in the world, «the gateway to Everest», with a runway only 527 meters long where at the end a deep cliff between mountain ranges, which makes it impossible to abort any flight that starts its operations; and when approaching the landing the narrow and mountainous terrain that surrounds it makes impossible any maneuver outside the foreseen one.
Amid the dozens of deaths and the search for several bodies, the Nepali government decreed a day of mourning, in consideration of the relatives of the victims from Nepal, India, Russia, Ireland, Australia, Argentina, Korea and Fran
