Nepal Airlines Flight 555

2013 aviation accident

Nepal Airlines Flight 555

A Nepal Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter similar to the aircraft involved in the accident

Accident
Date| 16 May 2013 (2013-05-16)
Summary| Runway overrun on landing due to pilot error
Site| Jomsom Airport, Jomsom, Manang, Nepal
28°46′57″N 83°43′38″E﻿ / ﻿28.7826°N 83.7273°E﻿ / 28.7826; 83.7273
Aircraft
Aircraft type| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
Operator| Nepal Airlines
IATA flight No.| RA555
ICAO flight No.| RNA555
Call sign| ROYAL NEPAL 555
Registration| 9N-ABO
Flight origin| Pokhara Airport, Nepal
Destination| Jomsom Airport, Nepal
Occupants| 21
Passengers| 18
Crew| 3
Fatalities| 0
Injuries| 7
Survivors| 21

Nepal Airlines Flight 555 was a short domestic scheduled flight from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport in Nepal of about 20 minutes' flying time, operated by Nepal Airlines. On 16 May 2013, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft operating the flight crashed while landing at Jomsom Airport. Seven of the twenty-one on board were seriously injured. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[1][2][3]

## Aircraft and crew

[edit]

The aircraft involved was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter bearing the registration 9N-ABO. It was built in 1979 and had been operated by Nepal Airlines ever since. Following this incident, the aircraft was written off.[4]

The captain was Pradhan Dipendra, 39 years old, with 8,451 total hours, 8,131 of those on the DHC-6. The first officer was K.C. Suresh 29 years old, with 1,396 total hours, 1,202 of those on the DHC-6. Both pilots are Nepali citizens.[5]

## Passengers

[edit]

Nationality  | Passengers  | Crew  | Injured

|
|
|

Nepal | 10 | 3 | 5
Japan | 8 | 0 | 2
Total | 18 | 3 | 7

There were eight Japanese tourists on the flight. All sustained injuries, with four of them in a critical condition, according to a police officer.[6]

## Accident

[edit]

The aircraft with its right wing severely damaged, lying on the Gandaki River

According to police, just after the aircraft touched down on the runway it veered towards the right and fell 20 metres (66 ft) down the bank of the Gandaki River. The forward fuselage was destroyed, but the rear of the aircraft remained intact. The left wing was found submerged in the river.[6]

## Investigation

[edit]

On 18 February 2014, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) released their final report concluding the probable causes of the accident were:

"The inappropriate conduct of STOL procedure and landing technique carried out by the PIC, during landing phase and an endeavor to carry out take off again with no sufficient airspeed, no required lifting force and non-availability of required runway length to roll. A contributory factor was the absence of proper CRM in terms of communication, coordination and briefing in between crew members on intention and action being taken by PIC, during pre and post landing phase."[7]

## Aftermath

[edit]

The accident left Nepal Airlines with only two operational aircraft for its domestic flights. The airline said that it planned an engine exchange that would put three more Twin Otters, currently grounded, back in the air, but that process would take at least five months. In the meantime, the airline was expected to suffer a significant loss of market share.[8]

Contrary to common practices in aviation, Nepal Airlines did not retire the flight number 555 and still operates the flight from Pokhara to Jomsom under this number.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Parashar, Utpal (16 May 2013). "7 critically injured in Nepal plane crash". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
2. ^ "Five critically injured in Mustang plane crash (with photos)". República. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
3. ^ Waldron, Greg (16 May 2013). "Nepal Airlines Twin Otter crashes, crew in critical condition". Flightglobal. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
4. ^ "REGISTRATION DETAILS FOR 9N-ABO (ROYAL NEPAL AIRLINES) DHC-6-300". Planelogger. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
5. ^ https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/2013/20130516_DHC6_9N-ABO.pdf [bare URL]
6. ^ a b "Nepal plane crash injures 21, including 8 Japanese". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
7. ^ "Accident: Nepal DHC6 at Jomsom on May 16th 2013, runway excursion". avherald.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
8. ^ "NAC to lose market share due to lack of aircraft". The Himalayan Times. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
9. ^ "Domestic Schedule". Nepal Airlines. Retrieved 1 April 2018.

* v
* t
* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in Nepal

1970s|

* 1973 Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 hijacking (June 1973)

1990s|

* Thai Airways International Flight 311 (July 1992)
* Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 (September 1992)
* Everest Air Dornier 228 crash (July 1993)
* Hinduja Cargo Services Flight 8533 (July 1999)
* Necon Air Flight 128 (September 1999)
* Indian Airlines Flight 814 (December 1999)

2000s|

* Royal Nepal Airlines crash (July 2000)
* 2002 Shangri-La Air Twin Otter crash (August 2002)
* 2006 Yeti Airlines Twin Otter crash (June 2006)
* Shree Air Mil Mi-8 crash (September 2006)
* Yeti Airlines Flight 101 (October 2008)

2010s|

* Agni Air Flight 101 (August 2010)
* Tara Air Twin Otter crash (December 2010)
* Buddha Air Flight 103 (September 2011)
* Agni Air Dornier 228 crash (May 2012)
* Sita Air Flight 601 (September 2012)
* Nepal Airlines Flight 555 (May 2013)
* Nepal Airlines Flight 183 (February 2014)
* Charikot helicopter crash (May 2015)
* Tara Air Flight 193 (24 February 2016)
* Air Kasthamandap PAC 750XL crash (26 February 2016)
* Goma Air Flight 409 (May 2017)
* US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 (March 2018)
* 2019 Air Dynasty helicopter crash (February 2019)

2020s|

* Tara Air Flight 197 (May 2022)
* Yeti Airlines Flight 691 (January 2023)
* Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ200 crash (July 2024)

* v
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 2013 (2013)

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Apr 7

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May 16

Nepal Airlines Flight 555

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