Goma Air’s factory made LET 410 NG aircraft arriving in January
22 November 2016 – Kathmandu
Goma Air’s most anticipated factory made third of the same type aircraft LET 410 of New Generation series ‘LET 410 NG’ is scheduled to land at Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) for the first time in January 12, 2017.
This will be the third brand new aircraft to join the multi-engine fleet of Goma Air which is gaining a big leap in aviation service market share of Nepal aviation industry after the addition of previous two new LET 410 series of aircraft registered 9N-AKY and 9N-AKZ on 2015.
An official Mr. Bishnu Dulal from Goma Air confirmed that the aircraft will be of same type and New Generation series in 18 seats configuration. He also informed that that crew training including the pilot, engineer and operation trainings is being carried on. The new pilots have just finished the ground trainings and are waiting for the training in type in Nepal.
According to the authority all the paper works of CAAN have been accomplished and the aircraft is in phase of acquiring new registration number. The aircraft on the factory is also getting upgraded with the required equipment list of the purchasing airliner.
The aircraft after arriving will conduct a test flight post that it will be issued certificate of Airworthiness from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, according to the source.
The new aircraft has an estimated cost of NRs 72 Million while the 2 aircraft bought a year earlier was worth NRs 60 Million each to the company. Let 410 series aircraft have been performing with high efficiency in the Short Take Off and Landings (STOL) aerodromes of Nepal.
The Let L-410 Turbo-let is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft which can fly and land at 14,000 feet above sea level and is designed for the operation in Himalaya countries like Nepal where airports have usually Short Takeoffs and Landings (STOL) runways manufactured in Europe by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for 18 passengers on board .
This airline has been serving various STOL destination of West Nepal Jumla, Simikot, Dolpa, Lukla, Bajura, Rukumkot, Bajhang, and Tanana from its Surkhet and Nepalgunj hubs.
Single engine aircraft facing shortage of Pilots
The single engine aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan of Goma Air has also been serving the STOL sector of Nepal. The aircraft are also doing passenger flights. But operation of these aircraft are not running smoothly. The disturbed operation of Single engine aircraft after Air Kasthamandap single engine aircraft crash is now obstructed by the deficiency of crew for these aircraft. But Goma Air is soon to add crew in its single engine fleet for the efficient operation of the single engines according to the source.
