Plane crash shines light on safety issues again READ MORE NEWS

Nepali airlines had been put in the bad books of the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) and the European Commission (EC) as being unsafe to fly. After the
latest incident, getting the
significant safety concern (SSC) tag given to Nepal removed will be even more difficult.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) had said last December that it expected Icao to remove the SSC tag by July 2016 as most of the safety problems it had raised had been dealt with.
Caan is optimistic that after the global aviation watchdog cancels the SSC, the European Commission (EC) will take Nepal out of its list of airlines banned from flying in Europe by December 2016.
Nepal was red-flagged on “operations”, among the eight critical elements of safety oversight, due to the large number of aircraft accidents and incidents between 2009 and 2012, with at least two passenger aircraft crashing annually.
On December 5, 2013, the EC had put Nepal on its air safety list, banning all carriers certified in Nepal from flying into the EU because of significant safety deficiencies requiring decisive action. International airlines and travellers hesitate to travel to a country whose air safety has been questioned by Icao and the EC.
Wednesday’s disaster was the first in nearly two years after Nepali aviation’s long track record of mishaps.
“Obviously, the situation has become difficult. Despite Tara Air’s improvements in terms of safety over the past years, Wednesday’s disaster was unfortunate,” said Sanjiv Gautam, director general of Caan.
“The SSC is directly related to Nepal’s certification process for the issuance of air operator certificates. But the disaster could have indirect repercussions on Nepal’s efforts to get the SSC tag removed.”
Issues of accountability and a general lack of safety culture are routinely cited by experts as the major factors behind the poor performance of airlines.
“It’s unfortunate that one of the most advanced planes has crashed in Nepal,” said aviation expert Kumar Chalise. “Technology is power to enhance safety, but in the wrong hands it has the potential to wreak havoc.”
Although an investigation committee has been formed to ascertain the reason behind the crash, preliminary reports indicate that the pilot made a wrong decision to enter thick clouds.
Chalise said that the aircraft’s operation and safety during the flight is ultimately the pilot’s responsibility, but in many cases they exhibit over-confidence.