Misfortune! Another crash, another Nepal.
On the morning of the 15th local time, another passenger plane crash occurred in Nepal, and a passenger plane carrying 68 passengers and 4 crew members crashed in the Pokhara region of Nepal, and 68 people have been killed so far.
According to the Aviation Safety Database, Nepal has had nearly 30 plane crashes in the past 30 years and more than 20 in the past 10 years. So what causes plane crashes in Nepal to be so frequent?
Nepal passenger plane crash site (Source: Nepal My republic website)
One of the reasons: rugged terrain in the mountains and unpredictable weather
According to public information, more than 80% of Nepal is mountainous, most of the territory is hilly, the country's terrain is high in the north and low in the south, and more than 50% of the land area is above 1,000 meters above sea level. There are many mountains on three sides in the east, west and north, especially in the northern Himalayas, with altitudes between 4877 and 8844 meters; The valley region of central Nepal, with many hills, occupies 68% of Nepal's land; The southern part is an alluvial plain with forests and grasslands, but the southern part covers only 17% of Nepal's territory.
In terms of climate, the climate difference between the north and south of Nepal is obvious. The country is divided into three climate zones: northern alpine, central temperate and southern subtropical.
In short, Nepal has a rugged terrain and a lot of mountains, and climate change in many places is abnormal, increasing the risk of flying.
Source: Headline Hot List
The second reason: the aircraft is in old condition and the supervision is not strict.
Nepal is still an agrarian country with a backward economy and one of the least developed countries in the world. Nepal's GDP in 2022 is less than $40 billion, ranking 100th in the world, with a per capita GDP of more than $1,000.
Under such relatively backward economic conditions, the aircraft currently in service are generally too old, and many aircraft that have been flying for many years cannot be replaced, which naturally brings great hidden dangers to safe flight.
Source: Headline Hot List
The third reason is that Nepal's domestic route safety services are backward and imperfect
After an air crash in Nepal last May, experts in the field of international aviation asked, "What can be done to make flights safer in Nepal?" In this regard, the chairman of the Nepal Tourism Operators Association said that the old aircraft did not even have a modern weather radar, and recommended mandatory installation. Senior meteorologists in the Nepalese government have also mentioned that they simply cannot provide the required meteorological services for domestic routes below 10,000 feet, which is deeply regrettable.
It is not difficult to find that Nepal is still lacking and imperfect in terms of basic flight safety services such as meteorological information and technology required for aviation.
Therefore, while we regret the frequent flight safety accidents in Nepal in recent years, we would also like to remind everyone that it is necessary to avoid airlines and flights with flight safety risks. Safety first!
#头条创作挑战赛 #