Latest air tragedy highlights Nepal's 'appalling' air safety record

29 September THE TIMES

The Nepal air crash has highlighted once again the poor safety record of the mountain kingdom, where 70 aircraft are reported to have crashed in 55 years of commercial aviation.

Safety experts say that the very mountains which attract hundreds of thousands of climbers and trekkers to Kathmandu every year create the extremely difficult flying conditions responsible for so many deaths.

In the past two years alone there have been six air crashes reported, resulting in 95 fatalities. Micro-climates around individual peaks unleash extreme weather which can change at very short notice, putting the small propeller jets capable of landing.