February 23: An Air Crash Investigation Commission formed by the government to investigate the crash of Tara Air plane near Jomsom in Mustang district around nine months ago has pointed out the mistake of the aircraft crew members for the fatal accident.

Twenty-two passengers including three crew members were killed when Tara Air’s Twin-Otter with call sign 9N-AET flying to Jomsom from Pokhara met with the accident in Mustang on May 29, 2022.    

The commission submitted its final report of the investigation to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati on Wednesday.    
The report states that the Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS) that gives information about the mountain ahead and its risk was turned off in the aircraft, leading to the accident.

“The crew members did not get any information of the aircraft’s proximity with the terrain because the system was shut,” reads the report.    
The government had formed Air Crash Investigation Commission under leadership of former Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Ratish Chandra Lal Suman on May 30. Captain Dipu Jwarchan, senior maintenance engineer Upendra Lal Shrestha, and senior meteorologist Mani Ratna Shakya were the members of the commission while Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane was appointed as the member-secretary.      
The report states that the plane hit a mountain after the crew members failed to utilize the TAWS system installed in the aircraft in an appropriate manner. -- RSS