Tara Air Crash: Nepal Issues Revised Rules for Flight Permits

May 31—The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on Tuesday revised its flight permit rules for airlines after a preliminary probe into Sunday's Tara Air plane crash indicated that bad weather led to the tragedy, in which 22 people, including six foreigners, lost their lives.

CAAN, which earlier used to take into account weather only at source and destination airports will, from now on, consider en-route weather conditions as well, the civil aviation body said.

"We will continue to depend on the data provided by Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to decide if the weather condition is okay at any place," said Devendra Lal Karna, deputy director general, CAAN.

Meanwhile, the revised rules also stipulate that the pilot in command will no longer decide on the feasibility of flights; the decision regarding the weather in the plane's route will be made only at the airport, a CAAN notification read.

The decisions, Karna said, will have to be followed by all flights following the visual flight rules (VFR), adding that the aviation regulator will 'strictly oversee and implement' the new guidelines.

Meanwhile, according to CAAN's initial assessment of the crash, the flight was scheduled to take a right turn but, due to inclement weather, turned left and crashed into a hillside.

A total of 22 people were on board. As many as 16 Nepali citizens, including the three crew members; four Indians belonging to the same family, and two Germans were occupants of the ill-fated flight.

Nepal, being a mountainous country, has a dismal record when it comes to aviation safety.

(With agency inputs)

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