Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
Nepalese domestic carrier Necon Air has suffered a fresh blow to its safety record with the crash of a British Aerospace 748 turboprop at Kathmandu, killing all 10 passengers and five crew on board.
The accident occurred on approach to Tribhuvan International Airport on 5 September. This is Necon's second fatal accident this year, coming less than two months after the report on the last crash called for improvements in pilot training and higher promotion standards.
According to Necon chairman Anoop Rana, the aircraft struck a communications tower at Ramkot, 25km (13nm) west of Kathmandu, at 10:25 local time. Weather conditions at the time are understood to have been clear. The 54-seat aircraft (9N-AEG) was operating from Pokhara to Kathmandu. It was a Series 2B variant, built in 1988, bought from its original operator - Taiwan's UNI Air - in November 1997.
Necon's last accident involved a Cessna 208 Caravan, which crashed on take-off from Jumla on 17 January, killing five of the 12 people on board.
The investigation found that the Cessna pilot had attempted to take off with flaps up - probably as a result of inadequate pre-flight checks. The aircraft stalled after.
The report called on Necon to improve pilot training and criticised Nepalese aviation authorities for inadequate monitoring of airlines. Rana says that the Caravan involved in that accident was operated by a single pilot.
One consequence of the accident investigation has been the introduction of two-man crews on this type, and training procedures are being examined, he says.
The airline operates three other 748s and one 208. Rana says that negotiations for a potential Bombardier Dash 8-300 order have been dropped, although the airline is negotiating to lease an ATR 42 by the end of this year.
Source: Flight International
