Air travel is a crucial means of transport in mountainous Nepal, but planes have to negotiate steep terrain and land at difficult airports, and the country has seen five fatal crashes in the last two years.
The Himalayan nation has a poor road network and the large numbers of visiting tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on small aircraft to reach remote areas.
Here is a chronology of recent air crashes in Nepal:
- May 14, 2012: At least 15 people die when an Agni Air plane carrying Indian pilgrims crashes near the treacherous high-altitude airport of Jomsom in northern Nepal, while six make a miraculous escape.
- October 18, 2011: All six people on board die when military plane crashes in a hunting reserve after taking off from Nepalgunj city in southwestern Nepal. The plane was transporting a critically ill soldier back to Kathmandu.
- September 25, 2011: A small plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Mount Everest crashes into a hillside near Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board.
- December 15, 2010: All 22 passengers and crew on board a passenger plane that crashes in eastern Nepal are killed. Most of victims are pilgrims from Bhutan, one US citizen is also among the dead
- August 24, 2010: A small Agni Air plane crashes in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 14 people on board including four Americans, a Japanese and a British national.
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