Southern weather

This article Source: Times Weekly Author: Liu Muxuan

This may be the worst air crash in Nepal in the past 30 years.

According to Nepal's Kathmandu Post, on June 5438+1October 55438+05, local time, Nepal Snowman Airlines flight 9N-ANC crashed near the Saiti River Canyon near Boccara, Nepal's second largest city. There were 68 passengers and 4 crew members on board, and at least 45 people were confirmed dead.

Local people gathered at the scene of the air crash to assist in the rescue.

According to the news from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the ATR-72-500 of Yeti Airlines took off from Kathmandu at 10: 33 am, with a time of 65438+ 10/0 55438+05, and the crash occurred about 20 minutes after take-off. It has been confirmed that there are 53 Nepalese, 5 Indians, 4 Russians, 2 Koreans and 4 passengers from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

According to the data of flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the crashed aircraft YT69 1, ATR-72, aircraft number 9NANC, aircraft age 15.

It is understood that ATR-72 is a dual-engine turboprop civil aircraft widely used in the market, which is jointly manufactured by the European Aerospace Defense Group, which holds 80% of Airbus, and Leonardo of Italy.

After the crash, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda held an emergency cabinet meeting, demanding full rescue and investigation of the crash, and urging security personnel and people to assist in the rescue.

At present, the wreckage of the plane is on fire, which brings difficulties to the rescue work. Nepalese military spokesman bhandari said, "We expect to find more bodies. The plane has broken down."

Behind the collapse

It is understood that the model of the wrecked aircraft is an improved ATR-72, which has the same structure as the ATR-42 regional aircraft, but the fuselage is longer, carrying more passengers, up to 70 people, and the range can exceed 1650 km. The life of ATR aircraft is usually 70,000 times, and one landing counts.

The wrecked airline Nepal Yeti Airlines, also known as Yedi Airlines, is a private airline established in 1998 in Nepal, which has contracted more than half of the domestic aviation market. Yeti Airlines has flown to Kathmandu, Chandragadi, BiLadner Gar, Janak Poole, Cimarra, Boccara, BayRahawa and other accessible mountain flights.

Yeti Airlines launched the sixth ATR-72 aircraft.

In September 2022, Yeti Airlines announced the addition of the sixth ATR-72 aircraft to its fleet. The company said that ATR-72-500 represents the latest generation of turboprop aircraft. Its noise and vibration are lower than other planes, and its interior is very good, so it will be very comfortable during the flight.

It is worth mentioning that Yeti Airlines is the first carbon-neutral airline in South Asia. It is understood that the carbon emission per passenger/kilometer of ATR-72-500 can be reduced by about 50% compared with the new generation jet aircraft and three times less than the old aircraft.

The most dangerous route

Nepal is one of the most special and complicated countries in the world. An aviation industry veteran once pointed out that due to bad weather, rugged terrain and aging aircraft, the frequency of plane crashes in Nepal is higher than that in most countries in the world.

According to the previous statistics of the aviation safety database, in the past 30 years, there have been 27 fatal air crashes in Nepal, of which more than 20 occurred in the last decade. If this time is added, it means that there have been 28 air crashes in Nepal in the past 30 years.

Because the market is small and the country is relatively backward, few airlines have the ability to improve their models, so they have to fly dangerous mountain routes with backward models. The European Union even banned Nepal Airlines from entering its airspace from 20 12 on the grounds that the frequency of plane crashes was too high.

Not only is the weather bad, but the aircraft is old. It is reported that Tenzin-Hillary Airport in the northeast of Nepal is also widely regarded as "the most dangerous airport in the world". There is only one runway at the airport, with a cliff at the end and the Himalayas on the other side. In 2008, a plane of Yeti Airlines crashed here, killing 18 passengers and crew.

201On March 2, 2008, United Airlines flight 2 1 1 departing from Dhaka, Bangladesh crashed when landing in Kathmandu, killing 5/kloc-0 of the 7/kloc-0 passengers on board.

20 18 Nepal air crash.

After the air crash, the review team formed by the Nepalese government finally released a report, which concluded that the pilot lost his way and the crew lost their situational awareness, which was the most likely cause of the disaster.