Flight put off due to missing database

KATHMANDU, MAR 03

The inaugural flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation’s (NAC) Airbus A320 to New Delhi scheduled for February 25 had to be abruptly cancelled one day before as the navigation and airport database of Delhi Airport had not been installed on the aircraft, it has been revealed.

The flight eventually took off on February 27 after the database was fed into the flight management system. “It was sheer negligence and safety had been compromised,” a highly-placed NAC source fumed.

The national flag carrier had then said that the flight had to be postponed as the Civil Aviation Authority of India had asked for additional paperwork.

The flight management system is a fundamental component from which the flight plan is constructed. Under the flight management system, the navigation and airport database component provides information on terrain, elevation, runway length, optimized terminal routes and en-route guidance, obstruction, lights, runway approach and frequency for the flight.

Using the on-board system, the pilot can assess flight-relevant information which is updated every 28 days.

The brand new jet was flown from Hamburg, Germany to Kathmandu on February 8 after a brief stop in the Qatari capital Doha. Tourism Minister Deepak Chandra Amatya and other high-level government officials were on board the aircraft. New Delhi had been kept as an alternative to Kathmandu ’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) during that flight.

“If the aircraft had not been able to land at TIA and had to be diverted to Delhi, it would have been a ‘grave issue’ since the database was not installed,” the source said. “The issue exposes utter negligence on the part of NAC’s operation and engineering department.” A two-member investigation committee led by Sadhu Ram Sapkota, joint secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, has been formed to look into the matter.

Around 130 passengers had booked seats on the first flight to the Indian capital scheduled for February 25. The new Airbus resumed commercial service on the Delhi sector on February 27. The jet took from Kathmandu at 8:25 am with 101 passengers on board.

Shrestha sends Kharel, Suman to face music

KATHMANDU: Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal had summoned Tourism Secretary Suresh Man Shrestha to provide a written clarification about the cancellation of the first flight of NAC’s Airbus A320 to Delhi, but Shrestha left for Berlin on Monday without any notice. Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that Paudyal had expressed dissatisfaction at Shrestha’s actions. The tourism secretary had sent NAC’s Managing Director Madan Kharel and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s Director General Ratish Chandra Lal Suman to the PMO on Monday to explain the failure to install the navigation and airport database on the aircraft. Sources said both Kharel and Suman have refused to reveal what happened at the PMO. Paudyal has directed the ministry to prepare a report and submit it to the PMO.

Source: The Kathmandu Post