18 people were killed and the captain has been rescued and hospitalized when a plane crashed during takeoff in Nepal on Wednesday, aviation officials said.
Nineteen people were on board the plane, including the crew, when the Saurya Airlines flight went down at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu immediately after taking off, according to a notice of the Search and Rescue Coordination Center of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, which was posted online.
The domestic flight to Pokhara took off at 11:11 AM local time, then “turned right and crashed on the east side of the runway,” aviation officials said.
“It is reported that the fire was brought under control and the rescue work was started immediately and the dead bodies of 18 people were collected and 1 injured person was rescued and taken to the hospital,” the statement said.
(© Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images)
History of the aircraft
The aircraft had already been in air for 21 years and 4 months. The aircraft 9N-AME of Saurya Airlines was a Bombardier CRJ 200 Series aircraft manufactured in Montreal, Canada.
Below is a history of ownership over the Bombardier CRJ 200 since it’s manufacture till it’s crash today:
| S.No. | Country | Airlines / Owner | Purchased on |
| 1 | USA | Atlantic Coast Airlines | May 2003 |
| 2 | USA | Independence Air | August 2004 |
| 3 | Nigeria | Arik Air | June 2007 |
| 4 | South Africa | South African Express | April 2008 |
| 5 | USA | AeroLease (Leasing Company) | January 2017 |
| 6 | Nepal | Saurya Airlines | March 2017 |
What’s the situation of rescued captain?
Captain Manish Shakya who had been successfully rescued from the crash site is undergoing treatment in KMC Hospital, Sinamangal, which is closeby to the Tribhuvan International Airport, where the aircraft crashed.
Captain Shakya is able to speak normally and has sustained injuries to body parts including his head and legs. The Hospital has informed that his treatment is undergoing in the Emergency Ward. It has also informed that CT Scan of Captain’s head has been and the report is underway.
Injured Captain Shakya was rescued covered heavily in blood, by the rescue teams of Nepal Police and Nepalese Army from the crash site and was sent immediately to hospital.
The aircraft crashed immediately after taking off on 11:11 AM whereas captain Shakya was rescued on 11:34 AM.
Who were on the aircraft?
The passengers onboard the aircraft were Saurya Airline’s Employees and their family members.
Here is a list of the passengers along with the crew members that were onboard the aircraft:
Was it a regular passenger flight?
No, it was not a regular commercial passenger flight. Instead, the aircraft was actually on its way to Pokhara for it’s engine inspection. It was awaiting it’s C-Check (Major Inspection).
The aircraft was scheduled to be under inspection and repairing for a month in hangar in Pokhara International Airport.
After the crash
Tribhuvan International Airport was closed for some hours until the rescue operation completed. The on-route domestic flights to Tribhuvan Int’l Airport were told to be stationed in their origin airports and the international flights were diverted. As of now, the rescue has completed and flights have resumed in the airport.
Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and High Ranking Officials of National Security Organizations have visited the airport to take further information regarding the crash.
What Actually Happened?
What Eye Witnesses say
Eye witnesses say that the aircraft crashed with a container inside the airport and broke into two parts after which fire started englufing the aircraft. They say that the passengers were spread over from the aircraft after it struck the container and after hitting the ground, the aircraft emitted fumes, after which fire started.
Eye Witness claim a sad fact that the fire brigade reached the site only after the aircraft got completely engulfed by the fire. This is a very sad fact of weakness in Nepalese preparedness in every sector towards possible accidents that can happen anytime in future.
“The fire brigade reached the site only after the aircraft got completely engulfed by the fire.”
What the ATC and Police say
Nepal Police got information about the crash 4 minutes after the crash happened. Police says that they received the information at 11:15 AM, where the aircraft had crashed at 11:11 AM.
As per the Civial Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the last communication between the ATC (Air Traffic Controller) and the captain was the ATC’s instruction “Clear for takeoff”. Then the aircraft took-off from runway 02. After 20 to 22 seconds of taking off, the aircraft started tumbling and immediately turned right and hit the ground.
As per the CAAN, in the conversation with ATC, there had been no information regarding any problems in the aircraft passed on by the captain. Initially it is seen that the aircraft lost control after 20 to 22 seconds of taking off but exact reason of the crash cannot be known through preliminary estimates.
The country faces another tragic aircraft crash after about a one-and-half year of the Yeti Airlines flight crashed in Pokhara, while it was on it’s way to land in Pokhara International Airport on January 15, 2023, which had claimed lives of all 72 people onboard.