The crashed Nepali passenger plane, ATR-72, was en route from Kathmandu to Pokhara’s new Airport, Nepal’s third international airport, built with Chinese assistance, was inaugurated only days ago, on January 1, 2023.

The fatal crash adds to Nepal’s long list of aviation accidents over the last two decades. Rugged terrain and poor regulations along with a lack of infrastructure and investment have led to major accidents in the country.

Here’s a list of air safety incidents in Nepal since the 2008 Lukla crash.

• July 2022: Yeti flight YT-672 from Pokhara to Kathmandu (Nepal) with 45 people on board, was climbing out of Pokhara when the left-hand engine (PW127) failed, prompting the crew to shut the engine down and return to Pokhara for a safe landing about 6 minutes after departure. The airport reported the left-hand engine failed immediately after the Aircraft became airborne.

• May 2022: An aircraft flying from Pokhara to Jomsom in Nepal with 22 people onboard lost contact, airport authorities said. It went missing in the mountainous region of the nation. The plane, Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft, took off at 9.55 am and went off the radar shortly thereafter. A helicopter was sent to trace the plane that should have landed at its destination 25 minutes after taking off.

  Bodies of all the people on board were recovered three days later. The Nepal government‘s probe report concluded that the bad weather might have caused the incident.

• July 2022: Flight YT-422 from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu (Nepal) with 66 passengers and 3 crew, landed on Kathmandu’s runway 02 but veered right off the runway at about 11:06L (05:21Z). The aircraft came to a stop with all gear on the soft ground east of taxiway D. There were no injuries, and the aircraft received minor if any damage.

  ATC announced the airport was closed due to an aircraft having skidded off the runway. The airline reported a runway excursion incident, all 66 passengers (64 adults 2 infants) and 3 crew remained uninjured.

• February 2019: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed into a hill as it was attempting to find its way back into Kathmandu in cloudy weather. Nepal’s Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari was among the seven passengers who died in the incident. The preliminary report of the probe claimed that there had been violations of operating procedures, such as disbalance of weights due to the positioning of the fuel tank and the incorrect seating arrangements of passengers.

• March 2018: 49 people were killed on March 12, 2018 when a US-Bangla airline carrying 67 passengers and four crew members crashed at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International airport. The flight returning from Dhaka, caught fire after it careened off the runway during landing and crashed onto a football ground near the airport and then exploded. A commission appointed to probe concluded that the probable cause of the accident might be the pilot’s disorientation.

• February 2016: An Air Kashthamandap aircraft with 11 people on board crashed in Kalikot district of Nepal. Two crew members were killed and all nine passengers were injured in the incident.

• May 2015: A US marine corps squadron crashed in the Charikot region of the nation killing all the 8 occupants on board. The UH-1Y Huey, with six US marines and two Nepali soldiers, went missing during a mission to deliver aid to victims of two earthquakes.

• May 2012: Thirteen Indian pilgrims were among 15 persons killed in May 2012 when a Dornier plane with 21 people on board crashed into a hilltop in northern Nepal while attempting to land at a high-altitude airport. The aircraft was flying from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.

• September 2011: A Beechcraft 1900D operated by Buddha Air that was carrying tourists on a sightseeing trip around Mount Everest, collided with a hill. All 19 people on board died, including 10 Indians. Adverse weather conditions were the cause of the accident, as the Kathmandu airport and its surrounding area were encased in thick monsoon clouds during the crash.

• October 2008: Yeti Airlines Flight 101 was a domestic flight in Nepal, that crashed on final approach to Tenzing-Hillary Airport in the town of Lukla in eastern Nepal on October 8, 2008. The De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 registered as 9N-AFE originated from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Fourteen of the dead were reported to be tourists. Twelve of the passengers on the flight were German and two Australian. The only survivor was Surendra Kunwar, the captain of the aircraft, who was dragged free from the wreckage shortly after the crash and was flown to Kathmandu for emergency treatment.

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