A Saurya Airlines aircraft, departing from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, crashed and ignited on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, resulting in the death of 18 people, as reported by officials. The plane, carrying two crew members and 17 technicians, was en route to Pokhara for scheduled maintenance work.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal revealed that the Bombardier CRJ-200, bearing the registration 9N-AME, veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway shortly after its 11:15 a.m. takeoff.
Tej Bahadur Poudyal, spokesperson for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, verified that the pilot, the only survivor, is currently receiving medical treatment at a local hospital. “Everything was normal before the flight was ready to take off,” Mukesh Khanal, marketing head of Saurya Airlines, stated. The investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing. The crashed aircraft had been scheduled for maintenance at the newly inaugurated Pokhara Regional Airport, equipped with state-of-the-art maintenance hangars.
Witnesses of the crash reported that the aircraft was engulfed in flames upon impact. Television footage showed firefighters tackling the flames, with plumes of thick black smoke visible in the sky.
This tragic event has once again drawn attention to Nepal’s air safety record. It is reported that nearly 360 people have lost their lives in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal since 2000. Factors such as challenging topography, unpredictable weather shifts, and the use of outdated aircraft contribute to the high occurrence of aviation accidents in the country.
In response to the crash, Nepal’s Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, visited the crash site and asked for patience through a social media post. The government convened an emergency cabinet meeting to establish a panel to investigate the crash, as verified by a government spokesperson. The government expressed its commitment to enhancing aviation safety standards.
Following the crash, Kathmandu airport was temporarily closed but resumed operations within a few hours.
This incident is one of several in Nepal’s aviation history. A Yeti Airlines crash in January 2023 resulted in at least 72 fatalities, and a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crash in 1992 took 167 lives. These frequent accidents have led to safety concerns, resulting in a ban on Nepali carriers from operating in European Union airspace.
