by Mick the Ram

Eighteen people were killed after a plane crashed and caught fire shortly after take off from Tribhuvan International Airport, in Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu.

However, the pilot of the Saurya Airlines flight had an extraordinary escape, sustaining head and facial injuries and is expected to undergo surgery for broken bones in his back, but essentially he walked away relatively okay after the cockpit split from the rest of the aircraft on impact with a freight container, with the rest of the plane bursting into flames.

Captain Manish Ratna Shakya, who has over 10 years of experience, was pulled clear and taken to a nearby hospital, making him the only survivor.

At this early stage authorities have been unable to confirm what was the cause of the disaster, although the head of the Airport reported that an initial assessment showed that the plane had set off in the wrong direction.

What connection that may have is conjecture at this stage, but footage of the incident did prompt some experts to suggest it may have been caused by “climb failure” meaning the plane could not gain sufficient altitude.

Worryingly, it was later revealed that the aircraft was scheduled to undergo maintenance for a month immediately after the flight, which was bound for the Himalayan tourism hub of Pokhara in the country’s west.

All on board were either crew or technicians, with seventeen of those who died being Nepali, and one a Yemeni national.

Main airport for Nepal

Saruya Airlines operates flights to five destinations within the country and use a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets flying in and out of the main Nepalese International Airport in Tribhuvan, Kathmandu.

It is in a valley surrounded by mountains that make take-offs and landings particularly challenging for pilots. It is also surrounded by houses right next to the city, adding another layer of difficulty.

Immediate problems

Airport chief Jagannath Niraula spoke soon after the crash reporting: “It happened as soon as it left the ground, in not even a minute; as soon as it took off, it turned right, when it should have turned left.”

The aircraft then flipped after striking the east side of the runway with its wing tip, catching fire and rapidly becoming engulfed in flames, before crashing into a gorge at the far edge of the site.

Miracle escape

Nepal’s Civil Aviation minister, Badri Pandey, described how the fuselage split apart, struck the slope of the tabletop airport and bounced 50 metres away, before finally coming to rest on muddy ground, adding: “another part of the plane crashed into a nearby mound and it tore into pieces.”

He explained how it had hit a container on the edge of the airport then fell, but incredibly the cockpit had remained stuck inside the container. “This is how the captain survived,” he said.  

Talking at hospital

Rescuers reached the 37-year-old Captain Shakya – who joined Saurya Airlines in December 2014 – as he was still in his cockpit section, which remained embedded in the container.

“He was facing difficulty to breathe as the air shield was open, so we broke the window and immediately pulled him out,” so said Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police, Dambar Bishwakarma.

He continued to confirm that although he had blood all over his face when he was taken to the hospital, he was able to tell family members he was “all good”. 

Possibility for cosmetic surgery on bodies

Images showed rescue workers making their way through the wreckage, with large parts of the plane completely blackened and charred.

It later was reported that the hospital administration is considering the need to carry out some “cosmetic surgery” on several of the bodies, as tragically they have been burnt beyond recognition.

Weather not thought to be to blame

The possibility of  “climb failure” was quickly put forward as a potential cause, with several reasons which might include: engine failure, improper weight assessment during pre-flight planning, technical issues, or pilot error.

Weather can play apart too around the area of Nepal, but conditions on the morning of the crash were said to be “typical for the monsoon season”, with low visibility, but no rain and nothing out of the ordinary.

Regulator called into question

Questions were immediately raised regarding the Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation sector regulator. In particular, how planes with suspected technical problems were still allowed to fly.

It has been a concern in Nepal that many of its aircraft are ageing and lack standard equipment and modern maintenance.

Financial problems

Saurya Airlines has reportedly been financially troubled for years, worsened by the Covid pandemic. Some suggestions were of a suspicion that pressure had been put on to the pilots to keep the planes flying.

Last year, it proposed switching to ATR-72 aircraft and promised to uphold safety standards until the new planes arrived. However, the airline couldn’t secure the necessary investment for fleet replacement.