Himalayan Tour Flight Crash Near Kathmandu (9N-AEK)

Incident Overview and Flight Profile The aircraft was conducting a special flight carrying tourists above the Himalayan mountains, with a specific tour of Everest, in the early morning. The flight was returning to Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport when the accident occurred. The copilot, acting as pilot in command, had been cleared to descend to 6,000 feet for a landing on runway 02. ## Accident Sequence In marginal weather conditions, the aircraft passed below the cleared altitude of 6,000 feet. It subsequently contacted trees and crashed in hilly and wooded terrain near the village of Bishanku Narayan, approximately 6.7 km southeast of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. ## Casualties One passenger was seriously injured, while 18 other occupants were killed. The sole survivor died from his injuries a few hours later. The 16 tourists aboard were 10 Indians, 2 Americans, 1 Japanese, and 3 Nepalese. ## Official Findings and Probable Cause The Accident Investigation Commission, assigned by Nepal's Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, submitted its report to the Ministry. Investigators stated in a media briefing that human factors, mainly fatigue by the captain of the flight, led to the crash. The aircraft was flown by the first officer and was on approach to Kathmandu at 5,000 feet MSL instead of the required 6,000 feet MSL when it entered a cloud. While inside the cloud in low visibility, the aircraft descended, hit tree tops, and broke up. The captain had flown another aircraft the previous day and had been assigned to the accident flight on short notice in the morning of the accident day, but did not have sufficient rest. The commission analyzed that due to the resulting fatigue, the captain assigned pilot flying duties to the first officer, although she was not yet ready to cope with the task in demanding conditions. The newly assigned first officer had only 18 hours of experience on the aircraft type. The mountain view round trip had to turn back about midway due to weather conditions. While on a visual approach to Kathmandu at 5,000 feet MSL instead of 6,000 feet MSL, the aircraft entered a cloud and started to descend until impact with tree tops. The crew did not follow standard operating procedures, which required the aircraft to fly at or above 6,000 feet MSL in the accident area. The interaction between the crew members also did not follow standard operating procedures; for example, the captain distracted the first officer with frequent advice instead of explaining or adhering to procedures. ## Safety Recommendations As a result of the investigation, the commission released a safety recommendation requiring all operators to install Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS), in addition to eight other safety recommendations regarding pilot training, installation of visual aids, safety audit, and fleet policies.