The loss of a plane carrying 22 people in Nepal has highlighted the dangers of air travel in a country often referred to as one of the world's riskiest places to fly. When a Tara Air flight crashed into a Himalayan Mountain at an altitude of about 14,500 feet on May 29, it was Nepal's 19th plane crash in 10 years and its 10th fatal one during the same period, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
While investigators are still piecing together exactly what happened, the black box was recovered on May 31. Experts say conditions such as fickle weather patterns, low visibility and mountainous topography all contribute to Nepal's reputation as a notoriously dangerous place to fly.
On this occasion in particular, poor weather is thought to have played a part. The weather forecast for Pokhara at the time, according to Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, was "generally cloudy with brief thundershowers."
The May 29 incident
The Tara Air plane took off in the morning from the city of Pokhara, in central Nepal, and was about halfway into its 25-minute flight to the popular tourist destination of Jomsom when it lost contact with air control.
Bad weather, poor visibility, and a loss of daylight all hampered the initial search and rescue operation by the Nepali military, but helicopters sent over the mountainous terrain helped locate debris from the presumed crash site on May 30 and the first bodies were found.
Photos and videos released by the army showed debris from the plane scattered on the ground.
On May 31, despite the ongoing bad weather, rescuers announced they had recovered all the bodies.
Hostile topography
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