Finding human error as the reason behind the Buddha Air aircraft crash last year that killed all 19 on board including ten Indian nationals, a Nepalese probe commission has said that fatigue of the pilot coupled with poor visibility were the main factors behind the incident.
Private carrier Buddha Air’s beechcraft crashed in Lalitpur district located in the east of Kathmandu in September 25, 2011, killing 10 Indians, two Americans, one Japanese and six Nepalese including three crew members.
The accident occurred while the aircraft was returning from a mountain flight.
The probe commission formed by the Nepalese Tourism Ministry submitted its report on Friday with the conclusion that human error, mainly the fatigue of Captain and poor visibility could have led to the error that caused the accident.
Just a day before the accident, Captain J.B. Tamrakar had flown another aircraft and was assigned to the beechcraft early next morning without having enough rest, according to the report.
Captain Tamrakar suffering from fatigue, had given the Pilot-in-Command responsibility to junior person Adhikari, though she was not in a position to take up the PIC job which might have led human error, states the report.
The five member investigation team’s report concluded that flight crew did not follow standard route that led to a loss of situational awareness, resulting in the accident. “The aircraft was found flying in 5,000 ft above the ground against the standard norm which requires to maintain 6,000 ft elevation.”
“As the aircraft started descending inside the cloud it hit tree tops on the hills,” the conclusion of the report said. “Incompatible and incorrect procedure contrary to standard operating procedure led to the accident,” said Rajesh Dali, leader of the five member probe commission at a press meet in Kathmandu on Friday.
The probe commission has also recommended Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to enforce all operators to install Terrain Awareness Warning System.
