Blaming the dead

Aviation safety will remain a pipe dream unless stakeholders mend their ways.

The official investigation of the Tara Air Flight 197 crash in May last year regurgitates the list of usual suspects responsible for air accidents in Nepal: Bad weather, negligence, and machine malfunction. Investigators identified a malfunction in the plane’s terrain awareness and warning system, which led to the pilot losing situational awareness and hitting a mountain. They also point to the co-pilot’s lack of expertise of flying a challenging route like Pokhara-Jomsom, adding pressure on the main pilot. In the most recent Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara too, involving the loss of 72 lives, pilot errors have been flagged, even though the final investigation report is yet to come out.