Direction?

January 2nd, 2021| Topic: RaMbLeS | 2

Oops!

Recently, a Nepalese airline, Buddha Air, accidentally flew to the wrong airport!

(Yes, there is such an airline. It began flying in 1997 and operates a fleet of about a dozen turboprop aircraft out of cities in Nepal, mostly doing domestic runs, plus the occasional international flight to neighboring India.)

A week before Christmas, on December 18, 2020, Buddha operated flight U4505 with 69 passengers. It was supposed to fly from the capital Kathmandu to Janakpur, 140 miles southeast. Instead it flew to Pokhara, 120 miles west of Kathmandu.

No, this wasn’t one of those instances when an aircraft lands on the wrong runway or ends up mistakenly at a nearby airport. And, nope, no mechanical issues. U4505 went to another airport altogether, one located in the opposite direction, about 250 miles away.

How did this happen?

According to Astha Basnet, executive officer at Buddha Air, the mix-up was due to two factors:

Lapses in communication and failure to follow detailed standard operating procedures (SOP).”

It is still unclear whether this was a pilot error or some mess-up by ground staff.

One journalist speculated:

I could see this having happened in one of two ways. Due to bad weather at Kathmandu this time of the year, there is usually an abbreviated window for flights to depart from the capital. Many flights were departing around the same time, and they accidentally loaded passengers onto the wrong plane, but it was too late by the time they noticed. Or the passengers were on the right plane, but the pilots somehow mixed up flight plans, for whatever reason.”

Buddha Air claims it took swift action to rectify the situation. To its credit, within an hour of landing at the wrong destination, the aircraft refueled and managed to obtain permission to fly directly to Janakpur, a route that is not normally flown. All 69 on board (66 adults + 3 children) made it safely to their real destination, albeit a few hours late.

As Buddha Air declared:

In Buddha Air, we believe every fall makes us stronger. We have modified our procedures and manuals accordingly. We have also presented the investigation report to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and will follow all directives from the authority after their inquiry.”

According to CNN:

Birendra Basnet, CEO, confirms that the airline crew will receive additional training following the flight mix-up and that the airline has modified its existing flight manuals.”

They’d better.

Said Basnet in defense:

It’s an occupational error… or a human error you can say. Though such errors cause losses to the organization, it has nothing to do with the safety issue.”

Oh, really?

Our internal committee will recommend an appropriate system not to repeat the mistake in the future.”

I hope so.

And I also hope we know where we’re headed. In the next life.

Only one way to make sure. Only one Way.

Jesus said this:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 14:6

And this:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16

Here’s the flight plan: Placing one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s only God and Savior from sin is the only way to get to one’s destination, safe and sound, hale and hearty, finally and forever, to become a child of God.

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name.
John 1:12

SOURCES:
CNN; Kathmandu Post