KATHMANDU, AUGUST 4

An aircraft of Shree Airlines aborted the flight and made a safe emergency landing at Nepalgunj airport today due to mystery fumes coming out of the lavatory compartment just a few minutes after takeoff.

According to Suresh Khanal, the head of Nepalgunj airport, a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 aircraft of Shree Airlines that was scheduled to fly from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu aborted the flight and made an emergency landing when the pilot noticed the lavatory smoke detector light turn on.

'The aircraft had taken off from Nepalgunj at 9:49am, but the smoke indicator light lit up after flying five nautical miles,'

Khanal told THT, adding, 'The plane returned to Nepalgunj and landed safely at 9:56am. The smoke had started filling the passengers' seating area when the plane returned.'

He said the aircraft rescue fire fighting unit, ambulance, and other emergency crew were on standby at the airport as soon as the incident was reported.

'However, the smoke cleared up after the engine was shut down.'

Spokesperson for Shree Airlines Anil Manandhar said the aircraft returned as per the air safety protocol. According to him, there were 79 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane.

Binoj Bastola, one of the passengers on board the flight, described a scene of total panic and chaos in the aircraft after the smoke entered the passenger cabin. 'When the smoke alarm went off, the pilot made a sharp turn,' he recalled. In the minutes that followed, the smoke and burning smell from the lavatory had started permeating the passenger cabin, further escalating tension in the flight, he said.

'Emergency landing was quite rough and some of the passengers even got minor injuries while running during the emergency evacuation after the plane landed,' he told THT.

However, Nepalgunj Airport's Khanal claimed that he was unaware of any passenger getting hurt during the evacuation process.

Jagannath Niraula, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said technicians from the airline company and CAAN were inspecting the grounded airliner to carry out necessary maintenance.

'It is likely that there was some mechanical issue,' he said, adding the investigation was on.

Manandhar said some of the passengers who wanted to fly with another airline company got refunds, while others were put on another Shree Airlines flight to Kathmandu.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.