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Goma Air Flight 409
Accident
The aircraft involved in the crash pictured in 2016, then operated by Goma Air
Date	27 May 2017 (2017-05-27)
Summary	Crashed short of runway in low visibility
Site	Lukla, Nepal 27°41′07″N 86°43′35″E / 27.68526°N 86.72646°E / 27.68526; 86.72646
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Let L-410UVP-E
Operator	Summit Air
Registration	9N-AKY
Flight origin	Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
Destination	Tenzing–Hillary Airport, Lukla, Nepal
Occupants	3
Passengers	0
Crew	3
Fatalities	2
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

On 27 May 2017, a Let L-410 Turbolet operating as Goma Air Flight 409 crashed short of the runway whilst attempting to land at Tenzing–Hillary Airport in Nepal. It was on final approach when the aircraft hit trees short of the runway and subsequently slid down a slope before coming to rest about 200 metres (656 ft) below runway level and 40 metres (131 ft) short of the runway. The captain and the first officer died as a result of the accident, while another crew member received injuries.

Accident

At about 14:04 local time, the aircraft was on final approach to Runway 06 of Tenzing-Hillary Airport, on a routine flight from Tribhuvan International Airport, when it descended below the minimum safety altitude just off the runway and impacted with a tree and contacted ground three metres below the runway. It then slid over 200 meters down a ravine. CCTV footage released by the airport showed the aircraft dipping below the runway level and smoke rising from the wreckage. Witnesses stated that the weather conditions had been foggy, and that visibility was quite low. The airport does not possess any sort of navigational equipment, requiring pilots to land via visual approach. The up-slope runway 06 is without any instrument approach guidance. At the time of the accident, local visibility was substantially reduced by ground fog.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Let L-410, built in 2014 for Summit Air (then operating as Goma Air), registration 9N-AKY. The aircraft was involved in a prior minor accident on 2 June 2015, where the flight from Jomsom landed in Pokhara with the nose gear retracted. All 18 passengers on board were safe, but the aircraft suffered damage to its nose.

Victims

The Captain, 48 year-old Parash Kumar Rai, had over 9000 flight hours logged, and since joining the airline, had flown over 1900 hours on L-410 aircraft. He died shortly after being pulled from the wreckage. The co-pilot, Shreejan Manandhar died at 21:30 local time in intensive care at Lukla Hospital. The cabin crew member survived the crash and was soon medically evacuated to Kathmandu for further treatment.

Investigation

In December 2017, an investigation committee of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal submitted its final report on the accident and concluded that "Very low visibility" was the cause of the accident. As the aircraft was flying through dense fog for several minutes before the approach, it missed the runway of Lukla Airport. The report furthermore revealed that both air traffic control of Lukla Airport (who did not close the airport despite the foggy weather) and the crew of Flight 409, who are also suspected to have been stressed and fatigued, had violated standard operating procedures. Lastly, the committee suggested that a runway extension of Lukla Airport should be considered, which would make the airport, where several accidents have occurred in the past, safer.

References

^ "Accident: Summit L410 at Lukla on May 27th 2017, contacted trees and impacted ground before runway". avherald.com. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
"Goma Air LET L410 crashes in Nepal". www.aviationanalysis.net. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
"ASN Aircraft accident Let L-410UVP-E20 9N-AKY Lukla-Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
"Bidding Final Farewell to Captain Rai". www.aviationnepal.com. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
Prasain, Sangam. "Report: Goma Air crash due to 'very low' visibility". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 17 December 2017.

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 t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 2017 (2017)
Jan 16 Turkish Airlines Flight 6491Feb 21 Essendon Beechcraft King Air crashMar 8 Ameristar Charters Flight 9363Mar 10 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crashMar 14 Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 crashMar 28 Peruvian Airlines Flight 112May 15 Teterboro Learjet crashMay 27 Goma Air Flight 409Jun 7 Myanmar Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 crashJul 7 Air Canada Flight 759Jul 10 US Marine Corps Lockheed KC-130 crashJul 21 Thomson Airways Flight 1526Aug 11 UAE Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk crashSep 8 Medford, New Jersey, helicopter crashSep 30 Air France Flight 066Oct 14 Valan International An-26 crashNov 15 Khabarovsk Airlines Flight 463Dec 13 West Wind Aviation Flight 282Dec 31 Nature Air Flight 144Dec 31 Sydney Seaplanes DHC-2 crash
2016 ◄ ► 2018

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2017 (2017)

Jan 16 Turkish Airlines Flight 6491Feb 21 Essendon Beechcraft King Air crashMar 8 Ameristar Charters Flight 9363Mar 10 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crashMar 14 Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 crashMar 28 Peruvian Airlines Flight 112May 15 Teterboro Learjet crashMay 27 Goma Air Flight 409Jun 7 Myanmar Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 crashJul 7 Air Canada Flight 759Jul 10 US Marine Corps Lockheed KC-130 crashJul 21 Thomson Airways Flight 1526Aug 11 UAE Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk crashSep 8 Medford, New Jersey, helicopter crashSep 30 Air France Flight 066Oct 14 Valan International An-26 crashNov 15 Khabarovsk Airlines Flight 463Dec 13 West Wind Aviation Flight 282Dec 31 Nature Air Flight 144Dec 31 Sydney Seaplanes DHC-2 crash

2016 ◄ ► 2018

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