Saurya Airlines Flight FER | |
Image Upright: | 1.15 |
Occurrence Type: | Accident |
Summary: | Crashed shortly after take-off, under investigation |
Site: | Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal |
Aircraft Type: | Bombardier CRJ200ER |
Operator: | Saurya Airlines |
Tail Number: | 9N-AME[1] |
Origin: | Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal |
Destination: | Pokhara International Airport, Gandaki Province, Nepal |
Occupants: | 19 |
Passengers: | 17 |
Crew: | 2 |
Fatalities: | 18 |
Injuries: | 1 |
Survivors: | 1 |
Icao: | SAU-FER |
On 24 July 2024, a Bombardier CRJ200ER operated by Saurya Airlines as Flight FER,[2] crashed shortly after take-off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu Nepal, killing 18 out of 19 people on board.[3] [4]
The aircraft involved was a Bombardier CRJ200ER, registered as 9N-AME with manufacturer serial number 7772, built by Bombardier Aviation in 2003 and powered by two General Electric CF34-3B1 engines.[5] The aircraft was first delivered to Atlantic Coast Airlines and then entered into service with Saurya Airlines, then known as Kuber Airlines, in 2017.[5]
The plane was set to fly from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to Pokhara on a ferry flight, and was carrying two flight crew members and 17 passengers. Saurya Airlines said that maintenance on the aircraft was scheduled for 25 July.
The accident occurred on 24 July 2024 around 11:15 NPT shortly after the aircraft took off.[6] The plane lifted only slightly above the runway before it rolled onto its side and crashed. Footage and eyewitness accounts indicated that the plane took off from the runway's southern end, made a sharp bank and fell, its wing tip striking the ground first. The plane caught fire on impact and skidded into a gorge east of the runway between an aircraft hangar and a radar station.[7] Footage of the incident showed firefighters putting out the blaze while attempting to rescue survivors. According to the civil aviation minister, Badri Pandey, the cockpit was severed from the main fuselage by a freight container just before the main body impacted the ground. The cockpit became embedded in the container while the rest of the aircraft was carried further down the gorge.[8]
Eighteen people were killed in the crash, including one citizen from Yemen.[9] [10] [11] The captain, Manish Shakya, was the only survivor of the crash, and was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.[12] [13] The first officer was identified as Sushant Katuwal.[14]
There was low visibility in Kathmandu at the time of the crash.[13] One airport official reported that "cracking noises" seemed to come from the plane prior to the crash.
The plane was carrying two crew and according to some sources, 17 technicians employed to conduct routine maintenance on the aircraft. Other sources indicate that one of the passengers was a child.[15]
Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nepali | 16 | 2 | 18 | |
Yemeni | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Total | 17 ! | 2 | 19 |
Tribhuvan International Airport was temporarily shut down following the disaster, and Saurya Airlines suspended all flights following the crash.[16] Three passengers survived the crash but died later in a hospital. The bodies of the victims were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsies.[13] The captain was rescued "within five minutes of the crash," and received head and facial injuries, and fractured bones in his back.
The head of Tribhuvan International Airport said that initial investigations showed that the aircraft turned towards the wrong direction shortly after takeoff.[6]