Nepal Plane Crash: Pilot lone survivor, has injuries to the eyes; 18 dead | 10 updates

Nepal Plane Crash: In a tragic incident, a Saurya Airlines plane crashed during takeoff from Kathmandu, resulting in 18 fatalities on Wednesday, July 24. Reports indicate that the pilot miraculously survived the crash, which occurred due to a fire onboard the aircraft.

The only survivor was the pilot, who was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital for treatment. The pilot has injuries to the eyes but is not in any danger, a doctor said.

Officials said the plane was going for regular maintenance to Nepal's new Pokhara airport, which opened last January and has aircraft maintenance hangars, reported Reuters.

Nepal Plane Crash: Ten updates

-The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Saurya Airlines plane had taken off at 11:11 a.m. from Kathmandu and was heading to the resort town of Pokhara.

-The statement said that the plane had already taken off and turned right before it crashed in the eastern section of the airport.

-The crash happened after the tip of one of the plane’s wings hit the ground during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal’s capital, according to the Kathmandu Post.

-The airline manifest showed two pilots and 17 passengers on board, including one female passenger.

-The crew and 16 passengers were Nepali nationals, with one identified as a foreigner whose nationality was not disclosed.

-The bodies have been taken to the TU Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy.

-Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport in Nepal for international and domestic flights, was closed after the crash as emergency crew and investigators began their work. It was reopened later.

-Though it is monsoon season in Kathmandu, it was not raining at the time of the crash. However, visibility was low across the capital.

-The aircraft involved in Wednesday’s accident was a Mitsubishi CRJ-200 with a capacity of 50 passengers.

-This was the deadliest crash in Nepal after 68 passengers and four crew members on Yeti Airlines Flight 691 were killed in January last year.

Nepal Plane Crashes

The Kathmandu airport, the main airport serving Nepal, is located inside a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides. It is considered a challenging airport for pilots, and bigger planes must come through an opening on the mountain to land. The airport is right next to the city and is surrounded by houses in the neighbourhood.

In 2019, a Bangladeshi airliner crashed at Tribhuvan airport, killing 51 people while 20 on board survived. An investigation confirmed the plane was misaligned with the runway, and its pilot was disoriented and tried to land in “sheer desperation” when the plane crashed.

In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet landed in dense fog and skidded off a slippery runway at the airport. The plane was carrying 238 people, but there were no serious injuries.

(With agency inputs)