DNA Explainer: Why Nepal has witnessed several plane crashes, what makes its sky dangerous?

Nepal plane crash: An aircraft carrying 72 people, including 68 passengers and four crew members, crashed in Nepal on Sunday. The plane reportedly crashed while landing at the newly constructed Pokhara Airport in Nepal. 

At 68 people died in the plane crash. As per the latest update, the search operation has been halted for Sunday and bodies are yet to be retrieved. The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, which took off from the capital Kathmandu, crashed in Pokhara around 11 am. The aircraft is operated by Yeti Airlines.

This is not the first time that such an incident occurred in Nepal. The country has a long history of plane crashes. In May 2022, all 22 people on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air died when it crashed. 

There are several reasons behind the plane crashes in the past. There have always been concerns about Nepal's airline industry including safety and inadequate training of staff. According to the Aviation Safety database, at least 27 fatal plane crashes took place in Nepal over the past 30 years.

Reports suggest unpredictable weather, lack of training of staff, difficult mountainous terrain, lack of investment in new planes and infrastructure, and poor maintenance of planes have contributed to these incidents in the past.

In 2013, the European Union put Nepal on the flight safety blacklist. This led to a blanket ban on all flights from the Himalayan country into its airspace.

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