National
Safety issues mar thriving paragliding biz
A Korean national, Hwane Yan Gak, fell to his death in Phewa Lake in a paragliding accident in Pokhara a week ago.Shiva Sharma
According to the Kaski District Police Office, 51 paragliding accidents have been registered since 2008 in which five persons died and one went missing.
The popularity of the sport continues to soar despite the risks associated.
“Besides being a dangerous sport in itself, the increase in the number of flights and inadequate landing zones have heightened the probability of accidents,” said Rajesh Bamjan, president of Nepal Air Sports Association.
According to Bamjan, most of the accidents so far have been caused due to negligence on the part of the pilots who disregard the safety measures.
Every person who died in paragliding accidents so far were solo pilots and foreign nationals. Bamjan said that lack of flight experience and failure to remain alert during flight were the major causes behind the accidents. Although minor accidents have become an everyday affair, most companies refrain from making such incidents public and express ignorance, fearful that it could hinder their business.
Stating that the airspace is inadequate to accommodate the sport in Pokhara, Deepak Baral, the chief of Civil Aviation Authority, Pokhara, said that drastic measures were necessary for proper management of the sport and to mitigate the risk of accidents. Use of same airspace by solo, tandem and amateur fliers have become a major hassle, Baral.
The flight operators, however, seem less concerned about searching an alternative location despite the rise in the frequency of accidents. Some of them have been carrying out the flights even in poor weather conditions, disregarding the potential hazards.
While the 22 registered agencies offering the paragliding service here have been operating from the same location, about the same number of agencies seeking permission are under registration process. The only paragliding location in Sarangkot, Pokhara, ranks fifth in the list of best paragliding locations worldwide. However, the agencies with more than 100 domestic and foreign pilots have failed to take proper measures to ensure the safety of their clients.