Kathmandu Airport is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. It is considered a difficult airport for pilots and large planes must pass through an opening in the mountain to land.
A passenger plane crashed on Wednesday just after taking off from the airport serving Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the only survivor.
Basanta Rajauri, a police official, said authorities had removed all 18 bodies. The sole survivor was the pilot, who was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital for treatment, said a doctor at the hospital who was not authorized to speak to the media.
The pilot suffered eye injuries, but his life is not in danger.the doctor said.
A press release issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Saurya Airlines plane took off at 11:11 a.m. from Kathmandu and was heading to the resort town of Pokhara.
The plane had already taken off and turned right before crashing in the eastern part of the airport.
The bodies were taken to Kathmandu University Teaching Hospital for autopsy. The airline manifest states that there were two pilots and 17 passengers on board, including only one woman. The crew and 16 passengers were Nepalese nationals, One of them was identified as a foreigner, but his nationality was not revealed.
Airport considered difficult
Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal’s main airport for international and domestic flights, was closed while rescue teams and investigators began their work.
It is the monsoon rainy season in Kathmandu, but it was not raining at the time of the accident. Visibility was, however, poor in the capital.
Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 on domestic routes.
Kathmandu Airport, the main airport serving Nepal, is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides. It is considered a difficult airport for pilots and large planes have to go through an opening in the mountain to land. It is located right next to the city. The airport is surrounded by houses and residential areas.
In 2019, a Bangladeshi airliner crashed at Tribhuvan airport, killing 51 people and leaving 20 survivors. An investigation confirmed that the plane was misaligned with the runway and its pilot was disoriented and attempted to land in “sheer desperation” when the plane crashed.
In 2015, a Turkish Airlines plane landing in thick fog skidded on a slippery runway at the airport. The plane was carrying 238 people, but there were no serious injuries.
