Nepal to strengthen inspections for pilots to ensure air safety

As human errors have been pointed out as a major reason for increasing air accidents in Nepal, the Nepalese authorities have said that they would strengthen inspections for "health and behavior" of crew members.

The Himalayan country witnessed six air accidents in the last one year, killing 36 passengers and crew members.

Speaking at Committee for Good Governance and Monitoring of Nepalese Parliament on Friday, Sanjeev Gautam, director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), said that the CAAN has now decided to focus on addressing human behavior issue of the crew members.

"We don't understand why the pilots are repeatedly entering clouds as it is a violation of the standard operating procedure," he said.

Gautam told the lawmakers that the CAAN has issued a circular to airline operators telling them that if any pilots were found entering into cloud during the monsoon season, their licenses would be withdrawn immediately.

Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Kumar Rai also said that the government would implement the policy of regular health check for pilots before they start a flight. Nepalese lawmakers said that if the current safety issues are not corrected immediately, anyone could be a victim. They said that repeated air accidents have spread the bad image of Nepal as a risky country for travel.

The Himalayan country is under the significant safety concern list of International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Commission has banned Nepalese airlines to fly over the sky of European Union showing deficiency in Nepal's air safety. Endit