Nepal plane crash kills 18: Tribhuvan Airport with tabletop runway one of scariest to land or take off

Nepal plane crash: The Nepal plane crash on Wednesday (July 24) that killed at least 18 people is the latest such accident in Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), which is considered one of the toughest to land on or take off from. Located in Kathmandu’s Bagmati, TIA has a ‘tabletop’ runway. That and other factors like high altitude, weather changes and Himalayan terrain are the reasons why Tribhuvan airport is the site of several crashes.

What is a tabletop runway?

Tabletop runways are made on plateaus, hills or other elevated surfaces. One or both ends of it are at an elevation, and usually near a trench of some form. When landing or taking off, the pilots have to navigate the optical illusion of being at the same level as the plains below. It requires extreme precision and experience to land on and take off from a tabletop runway.

Also read: Nepal Flight Crash: 18 dead as plane with 19 onboard crashes during takeoff

Mechanised or ‘instrument landings’ are mostly not done on tabletop runways for this reason. In Nepal, at least seven airports including Tribhuvan International Airport have tabletop runways, given its mountainous terrain. In India, there are tabletop runways at Shimla Airport in Himachal Pradesh, Calicut International Airport in Kerala, Mangalore International Airport in Karnataka and Lengpui Airport in Mizoram. 

Weather can be a killer in Nepal airports

Tribhuvan airport is in Kathmandu Valley from where one can see the Himalayas towering over in some distance on a good weather day. The airport is located at a high altitude, at an elevation of 1,338 metres. 

The presence of the Himalayas affects the weather, as the wind patterns and fog are influenced by the mighty mountains. Visibility falls particularly during the rainy season and winters.

It takes an experienced pilot

Navigating tough airports like Tribhuvan International Airport runway is a skill acquired by pilots over the years. So only those with sufficient experience and skill can land or take off there. It is not uncommon for pilots to return back from the airport, not risking a landing that could turn into tragedy.

A small and busy airport known for traffic congestion

For such a small airport, TIA has handled a lot of traffic, at least 8.5 million in 2023. In order to address traffic congestion in the airport, the Nepal government over the past few years has promoted other airports, including the ones in Pokhara and Lumbini.

Watch: Nepal plane crash: Aircraft with 19 people on board crashes during takeoff

Particularly during tourist season marked by the Everest mountaineering period, the airport gets quite busy with landings and takeoffs.

For that kind of traffic, the airport is not big enough. The runway is around 3,350 metres as against 3,500 in similar airports elsewhere, meaning the pilots have only so much distance, and time, to make a safe landing or takeoff.

(With inputs from agencies) 

Vinod Janardhanan

Vinod Janardhanan is the digital content lead of this website. His life is more interesting inside his head, where sparks on global politics, entertainment, music, a

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