KATHMANDU, JULY 24
A Saurya Airlines plane crash at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) this morning claimed the lives of 18 people. The Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft, with the call sign 9N-AME, crashed shortly after taking off for Pokhara at around 11:11 AM.
The plane veered right off runway 02 immediately after takeoff and crashed east of runway 20. Smoke billowed from the wreckage, visible from miles away, as rescuers rushed to the site.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aircraft was carrying 19 airline staff members, including the pilot and co-pilot. The plane was en route to Pokhara for a complete engine check at the maintenance hangar at Pokhara Regional Airport.
The sole survivor, pilot Manish Shakya, was rescued from the wreckage and rushed to KMC Hospital in Sinamangal, Kathmandu. He is receiving treatment for head, eye, and leg injuries. Meanwhile, 18 bodies were recovered from the crash site. Co-Pilot Sushant Katuwal was among those who died.
Firefighters and security personnel, including Nepal Police and the Nepali Army, promptly responded to the scene. They managed to extinguish the fire and recover the bodies of the deceased, which have been sent to Teaching Hospital for postmortem examinations, informed CAAN.
Following the crash, TIA was temporarily closed to facilitate rescue operations, affecting both domestic and international flights. Domestic flights were halted at various airports, and international flights were either put on hold or diverted. After the completion of rescue operations, the airport reopened and normal flight operations resumed.
According to the airline, all the deceased were airline staff. Apart from the pilot crew of the flight, the passengers on board were identified as: Amit Man Maharjan, Sagar Acharya, Dilip Verma, Manu Raj Sharma, Ashwin Niroula, Sudip Lal Joshi, Sarbesh Marasain, Shyam Bindukar, Navaraj Ale, Rajaram Acharya, Priza Katiwada, Adhiraj Sharma, Uddhab Puri, Yagya Pd Paudyal, Santosh Mahato, Punya Ratna Sahi, and Aref Reda, a Yemeni national and an engineer with the airline. Although the airlines has claimed that all the deceased were the airline staff, it has been reported that there were also family member of the staff in the flight.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed deep sorrow over the incident. He visited the site to inquire about the cause of the crash with Civil Aviation Authority officials and urged the nation to remain patient and united during this tragic time. A team including Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badrilal Pandey, and Chairman of the State Affairs Committee Ramhari Khatiwada visited the airport to gather details about the incident and provide necessary directives.
Nepal has a troubling history of air crashes. In a recent incident, 72 people were killed when Yeti Airlines Flight NYT691 en route to Pokhara Airport crashed on January 15, 2023. The crash was attributed to human error, according to the report submitted by the Investigation Commission formed after the incident.
In May 2022, a Tara Air plane en route to Jomsom of Mustang from Pokhara crashed on a cliff at the base of the Manapathi Peak in Mustang, killing all 22 onboard, including three crew members.
On March 12, 2018, a Bombardier Q400 series aircraft operated by US-Bangla Airlines crashed near the runway, killing 49 people.
In 2012, a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok crashed in Kathmandu, killing all 113 people onboard.
Nepal's deadliest air crash occurred in 1992 when a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed, killing 167 people.
This latest crash adds to Nepal's poor air safety record, raising further concerns.
Saurya Airlines operates flights to five destinations within Nepal using Bombardier CRJ-200 jets, according to its website. The aircraft involved in today's crash, built in Montreal, Canada, was over 21 years old and brought to Nepal in 2017. It was scheduled for a routine technical inspection in Pokhara.
"The aircraft was to fly to Pokhara for a technical examination required as per the regular schedule after flying certain hours, not because of any fault," said Jasoda Subedi, Spokesperson of Pokhara International Airport. "The airline's employees and technicians were onboard for a regular technical test, parking it at the well-appointed hangar in Pokhara."
Following the crash, Prime Minister Oli called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the implications of the incident and measures to enhance aviation safety. The subsequent cabinet meeting decided to form a five-member commission to probe the plane crash under the leadership of the former Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Ratish Chandra Lal Suman. The commission's members include Captain Dipu Jwarchan, Sudip Bhattarai, Sanjay Adhikari, and Mukesh Dangol, who will serve as the member secretary. The commission has 45 days to submit its report.
This tragedy underscores the urgent need for stringent safety protocols in Nepal's aviation sector to prevent future accidents. As the country mourns the loss of 18 lives in this devastating crash, the focus shifts to improving air safety standards to ensure such tragedies do not recur.
