Pilot is sole survivor in Nepal plane crash that killed 18, officials say
- Victor Nwoko
- Jul 24, 2024
- 2 min read
Plane was being transported by airline officials for repairs at time of crash
A small plane carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, on Wednesday.
The Saurya Airlines flight, bound for Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city and a major tourist gateway, crashed at around 11 a.m. local time, according to The Kathmandu Post.
An official told Reuters that 18 bodies had been recovered, while the pilot survived with a head injury and was taken to the hospital. Premnath Thakur, spokesperson for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, confirmed that the 19 people on board included crew members. According to The Himalayan Times, the plane – a 9N-AME (CRJ 200) aircraft – was carrying only technical staff, with no paying passengers, citing Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at the airport.
Eyewitnesses reported that the plane suddenly flipped during takeoff, with its wing tip striking the ground and causing a fire. The aircraft then crashed into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway. It was reportedly en route to Pokhara for maintenance.
“Only the captain was rescued alive and is receiving treatment at a hospital,” Tej Bahadur Poudyal, spokesman for Tribhuvan International Airport, told Reuters. Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority stated: “Shortly after takeoff ... the aircraft veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway.”
Saurya Airlines reported that among the 19 on board, 18 were Nepali citizens and one was an engineer from Yemen. The airport was briefly closed following the crash but reopened within hours.
Flightradar24, a flight tracking website, noted that it did not track the Saurya flight on Wednesday because the aircraft “was not equipped with a modern ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) transponder.”
Nepal has faced criticism for its poor air safety record, with Nepali airlines banned from operating in European airspace. On January 15 last year, 72 people died when a Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 aircraft crashed near Pokhara International Airport. A subsequent investigation revealed that pilot error caused the crash, making it Nepal’s deadliest air disaster since a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed in 1992, killing all 167 on board.
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