Buddha Air Turboprop Overshoots Runway in Nepal
KATHMANDU, Nepal – A passenger aircraft of Buddha Air skidded off the runway on Friday night as it landed at the Bhadrapur Airport in eastern Nepal but no one was seriously injured because all the 55 people on board got out of the plane, said the officials.
According to Nepalese aviation authorities, the ATR 72-500 turboprop that had 51 passengers and four crew on board was on a domestic flight when it overran the runway by approximately 165 to 200 meters around 9 p.m. at the time of the landing, local time.
Rescue workers hurried to the location and cleared all the people off the aircraft. The airline reported that passengers who suffered light injuries were attended to instantly by medical personnel who released them in the end.
Buddha Air identified the plane as registration 9N-AMF, a 2007 built turboprop that Air Caledonie had used. Social media photos were seen to depict a significant amount of damage to the plane.
The carrier claimed that it sent a technical team and relief staff in the capital to inspect the aircraft and help in the recovery process. The flights in Bhadrapur Airport were momentarily halted as crews cleared the airport and checked the runway.
The civil aviation authority of Nepal has embarked on an investigation into the incident. The landing processes, weather conditions, runway surface and aircraft performance are some of the aspects of investigation that are expected to be investigated by inspectors.
Buddha Air committed the full cooperation with regulators. It was the last flight of the evening in the Kathmandu-Bhadrapur route and was to spend the night there before going back to the capital the morning after.
The accident has brought back the attention on aviation safety in Nepal where rugged landscape and fluctuating weather are a continuous threat. In January 2023, the ATR 72 airlines landed in Pokhara, with all 72 passengers aboard, leading the aircraft to crash.
This article was produced in accordance with our editorial standards. Aviantics maintains strict editorial independence.
