The plane, which went missing in Nepal with 22 people on board, went missing 15 minutes after takeoff, the airline said.
Nepal’s aviation industry has grown rapidly over the past few years. Aircraft are used to transport people and goods to inaccessible mountainous areas.
The missing plane belonged to Tara Air and was a Twin Otter. Departure from West Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 a.m. (0410 GMT).
Torah Air spokesman Sudarshan Bertoula told AFP: “We are trying to find a possible location for the plane. “Search and rescue teams from both the police and the army are moving in that direction.” The plane was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, he said. Among the passengers were two Germans and four Indians, and the rest were Nepalese.
Jomsom is found about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. Jomsom is a popular mountaineering destination in the Himalayas. Home Ministry spokesman Fanindra Mani Pokarel said two helicopters had been deployed for the search operation. But he said his vision was poor. Also, according to international news services, bad weather has disrupted everything
Nepal’s aviation industry has long suffered from poor security due to inadequate training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepalese airlines from flying over its airspace due to security concerns. The Himalayan country also has some of the most distant and strategic tracks in the world, surrounded by snow-capped peaks with accesses that challenge even the most skilled pilots. The weather in the mountains can also change quickly, creating treacherous flying conditions.
In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crashed near the Kathmandu International Airport, killing 51 people. The plane from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka crashed, slipped on a football field and caught fire. Twenty passengers miraculously survived the wreckage but sustained serious injuries.
An investigation revealed that the captain suffered an emotional breakdown during the flight, diverting the attention of the freshly qualified co-pilot who was in control when the plane crashed. Air traffic control also confused the two ends of the runway, but the report concludes that this had no effect on flight.
In 1992, a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 people on board. It is also reported that it was the deadliest accident in Nepal. Two months ago, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the airport, killing 113 people.
In 2019, three people were killed when a plane skidded off the runway and crashed into two helicopters while taking off near Mount Everest. The crash happened at Lukla Airport, the main gateway to Everest, and is considered one of the most difficult to land and take off.
Rabindranath Tagore, Nepal’s Minister of Tourism, was among seven people killed in a helicopter crash in Nepal’s eastern mountains in 2019. Nepal’s second international airport opens in Bhairahawa this month, aimed at gaining access to the Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini, near Buddhists across Asia. The $ 76 million project will ease the pressure on the overcrowded Kathmandu International Airport.
