Nepal Plane Crash Kills 18, Pilot Survives

A passenger plane crashed during take-off in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The pilot was rescued from the wreckage, but all 18 other passengers perished, according to the police in Nepal’s capital.

Nepal has a poor aviation safety record, with numerous light plane and helicopter crashes over the years.

The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying two crew members and 17 company staff, according to Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki.

“The pilot has been rescued and is receiving treatment,” Karki said. “Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner, who was a Yemeni citizen. The bodies are being taken for post-mortem examinations.”

An airport news release stated that the aircraft “veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway” shortly after take-off. The sole survivor is in serious condition in the hospital.

Ram Kumar K.C., who operates a tire store near the crash site, reported that the plane caught fire upon impact. “We were about to run to the site, but then there was an explosion, so we ran away,” he said.

The flight was either technical or maintenance-related, said Gyanendra Bhul of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, without providing additional details.

Images from the Nepalese military showed the plane’s fuselage split and charred, with soldiers in camouflage gear standing on the wreckage, the surrounding area covered in fire retardant.

Dozens of grieving relatives later gathered outside a nearby hospital where the bodies were taken. “I am heartbroken,” said Rajan Acharya, the brother of a safety officer on the flight. “He was my brother, but we were also best friends.”

The plane was scheduled to fly between Kathmandu and Pokhara, a major tourism hub. Saurya Airlines operates exclusively Bombardier CRJ 200 jets.

Nepal’s air industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, transporting goods and people to remote areas and catering to foreign trekkers and climbers. However, the industry suffers from poor safety standards due to inadequate training and maintenance, compounded by Nepal’s challenging geography.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns. Nepal’s runways are among the world’s most difficult, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and challenging approaches. The weather can also change quickly, creating hazardous flying conditions.

The last major commercial flight incident in Nepal occurred in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed while landing in Pokhara, killing all 72 aboard. This was the deadliest crash since 1992 when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 people on board. Earlier that year, a Thai Airways aircraft also crashed near the same airport, resulting in 113 fatalities.