Published •updated before
The Saurya Airlines aircraft was supposed to head from Kathmandu to a popular summer destination – The cause of the crash is currently unclear
A Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft with 19 passengers veered off the runway and crashed on Wednesday during its departure from the Nepalese capital’s Kathmandu airport.
A medical source from the Kathmandu University Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the pilot of the aircraft survived and was transported to the hospital with eye injuries, but his life is not in danger.
A police official announced that authorities recovered the bodies of the co-pilot and 17 passengers. The passenger list indicates that 16 passengers and both pilots were Nepalese, while one passenger was a citizen of Yemen.
According to the announcement from Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, the Saurya Airlines aircraft was supposed to head to the popular resort of Pokhara. It took off at 11:11 AM local time from the capital’s airport and turned right, but crashed a few minutes later in the eastern part of the airport.
The cause of the accident is currently unclear. Kathmandu is experiencing the monsoon season, and although it was not raining at the time of the incident, visibility is limited.
The Kathmandu airport is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains. It is considered a difficult airport by pilots, as larger aircraft are forced to use a narrow gap in the mountains to land. The airport is located next to urban areas, with homes and residential neighborhoods.
In 2019, an aircraft from Bangladesh crashed at Kathmandu airport, resulting in 51 fatalities, while 20 passengers survived. The investigation revealed that the aircraft was not properly aligned with the runway and the pilot, having become disoriented, made a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to land.
Four years ago, a Turkish Airlines plane veered off the slippery landing runway amid thick fog. Despite the turbulence, there were no serious injuries to any of the 238 passengers.