In the wake of the mid-January Yeti Airlines (YT, Kathmandu) crash, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is implementing a raft of new regulations designed to strengthen the country's aviation sector.

Under the changes, where airports have instrument flight rules (IFR) approaches available, all aircraft apart from short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft will be required to follow only the IFR approach, even during daylight hours. Operators of STOL aircraft will likely see the maximum allowable daily flight hours reduce from ten to eight and the maximum allowed daily landings cut from ten to eight.

"We have decided to reduce operation hours for an aircraft to eight hours and eight landings a day," Gyanendra Bhul, information officer for the CAAN, told The Himalayan newspaper. He also said once aircraft pass through a designated altitude level on their descent, they will not able to request a change of runway, turn around, roll, or pitch up or down.

"The authority has decided to mandate stabilised approach for all aircraft in Nepal after reaching 500 feet above ground level (AGL) during visual flight rules (VFR) operations in rural airports and 1,000 feet AGL for aircraft conducting VFR operation in other airports."

The January 15 Yeti Airlines incident, which killed 72 people, involved an ATR72-500 banking steeply and crashing while on final approach to Pokhara International. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered and dispatched to Singapore for analysis while a Nepalese government-ordered investigation, assisted by the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, is underway.

All Nepal-based aircraft examiners will also face a skills examination. "(The) CAAN has decided to conduct skill tests of all designated check pilots from the simulation check pilot of respective aircraft manufacturing companies to clear any sort of biases seen while conducting previous tests," said Bhul. He said both the Nepalese government and the CAAN, a state-owned agency, are deeply motivated to improve flight safety in Nepal following the most recent crash, adding that the country will also begin implementing and enforcing International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recognised standards and procedures.

The CAAN is yet to advise when these changes will take effect.