Prime Minister and Civil Aviation Minister Sushila Karki’s decision to assign Captain Kul Bahadur (KB) Lumbu for selecting new executive chief of the Nepal Airlines Corporation has fallen into controversy as Limbu himself holds a bad record.
Limbu was associated with Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) — burdened with a debt of Rs. 52 billion — immediately reminds many of several notorious incidents that took place two decades ago when he was the corporation’s Managing Director. These include the mysterious disappearance of a Boeing 757 flyaway toolkit worth Rs. 4.5 million, the theft of landing gear, and forged signatures used to recruit technical staff — all of which severely tarnished the corporation’s reputation.
His name has resurfaced recently after PM Karki assigned him last week as an expert on the selection committee responsible for choosing the corporation’s new Managing Director.
The government had formed the committee to select a capable manager who could restructure and reform the debt-ridden and mismanaged NAC. However, the appointment of a controversial figure — one currently engaged in a legal dispute with the corporation — has angered employees, according to a senior captain. Ministry officials themselves were also reportedly dissatisfied. “The ministry had initially recommended a former governor for the post, but when the Prime Minister’s Office proposed Limbu’s name, we were surprised,” said one official.
Before becoming Managing Director in 2007 (2064 BS), Limbu had been a Boeing 757 pilot at NAC. In 2006, he left his job and went to the UK on study leave, where he worked in safety and management at UK International Airlines. After the restoration of democracy, then Tourism Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung offered him the position of Managing Director, prompting Limbu to return to Nepal. At the time, Sugat Ratna Kansakar, brought from Nepal Telecom, was the Executive Chairman. Soon, a managerial conflict surfaced between the two, primarily over advance payments for the purchase of narrow-body aircraft.
Aviation experts have found it astonishing that Limbu — once accused of damaging NAC’s reputation — has now been appointed as an expert. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he rejoined the corporation for the third time to fly Chinese aircraft. Then-Executive Chairman Sushil Ghimire had hired him under a contract offering a monthly salary of Rs. 1.096 million. However, following an accident involving a Chinese aircraft, his contract became contentious. Limbu and NAC are now in a legal battle over unpaid contractual benefits.
Limbu’s controversies don’t end there. Recently, he was accused of spreading misinformation about NAC. In early October (Asoj), NAC’s management issued a public warning urging him to “maintain official decorum” and refrain from making statements that could harm the corporation’s reputation.
In a statement issued by NAC spokesperson Subash Dangi on October 7, 2025 (Asoj 7, 2082 BS), the corporation expressed regret over Limbu’s repeated attempts to spread baseless allegations through various media outlets. The statement noted that “instead of owning up to his responsibilities as a former high-ranking official, he has been misleading the public by distorting facts about the Rs. 8 million that the Supreme Court had ruled was not legally owed to him.”
Limbu has also been involved in several other controversies. On March 28, 2020 (Chait 15, 2076 BS), a Chinese Y-12E aircraft of NAC crashed while landing at Nepalgunj Airport. The captain of that flight was K.B. Limbu. All three crew members survived the crash. Both the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and NAC conducted separate investigations. Their reports concluded that the crash was not due to technical issues but human error — specifically the pilot’s negligence and procedural violations. The reports found that during landing, Limbu mistakenly shut down the left engine by moving its lever to the “shutdown” position instead of keeping it at “low idle,” which caused the engine to stop mid-approach, leading to the crash.
Since the aircraft was beyond repair, NAC claimed insurance compensation. Following the investigation, CAAN suspended Limbu’s pilot license for one year. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which later overturned the CAAN decision, allowing him to regain his license. Interestingly, his appointment as an expert came before CAAN officially received the full text of that Supreme Court verdict.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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