Another serious and shameful incident has been added to Nepal's aviation sector. Buddha Air's Janakpur-Kathmandu flight ATR 72 landed safely at Tribhuvan International Airport without the front nose wheel.
What is even more surprising is that the lost wheel was found at Janakpur Airport! The plane was fine when it took off, but a wheel went missing when it landed — such an unbelievable incident is not just the result of some slight negligence, it is also a dangerous sign of systemic weakness in Nepal's aviation security.
Nepal Civil Aviation Authority has made many rules in the name of safety, but in terms of implementation, they are limited to paper. Every time something like this happens, airlines use the term 'safe landing' to try to normalize the risk, but the reality is dire. The incident has raised serious questions about the technical testing system, the effectiveness of maintenance and the inaction of regulatory bodies. How reliable is pre-flight inspection? How did such a major mechanical error go unnoticed? Today's incident could have turned into another tragedy if not for the pilot's skill.
Looking at Nepal's aviation history, there is a tendency to blame weather, geography or other external factors, but never attempt to correct internal weaknesses. Due to negligence in safety, inaction of regulatory bodies and profit-oriented thinking of airlines, the lives of passengers have been repeatedly put at risk. Due to such irresponsible management, Nepal has been blacklisted many times in the international aviation sector. If there is no improvement, it will be fate to leave the lives of passengers to fate.
Now the question arises - how often to rely on luck? It will be difficult to make the Nepal aviation sector reliable if we keep the mindset of 'luck saved us' after every accident. If we do not try to improve, it is certain that more terrible accidents will happen again in the future. If the government, airlines and regulatory bodies do not take drastic measures now, Nepal's aviation sector will be permanently discredited, and passengers will pay the price with their lives.
– Santosh Simkhada , Tokyo Japan
