Eighteen individuals lost their lives following a tragic incident involving a Saurya Airlines aircraft, with the registration number 9N-AME (CRJ 200), which crashed during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, Nepal. There were a total of nineteen passengers on board the flight bound for Pokhara.
The pilot of the aircraft, 37-year-old Manish Shakya, was successfully rescued from the wreckage and promptly transported to a nearby hospital in Sinamangal for medical attention. According to Gyanendra Bhul, the information officer at TIA, the passengers on board were technical staff of the airline. The aircraft was en route to Pokhara Regional Airport for maintenance purposes.
Following the crash, smoke emanated from the aircraft. Law enforcement officials and firefighters were dispatched to the scene to conduct rescue operations. Eyewitnesses recounted that the plane was attempting to take off from the southern end of the runway when it suddenly flipped, causing the wing tip to strike the ground, as reported by The Kathmandu Post. Subsequently, the aircraft caught fire and descended into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway. In 2019, India’s Kuber Group acquired the airline for 630 million Nepali rupees. There were plans in 2021 to rebrand the airline as Kuber Airlines, but this initiative was postponed. Saurya Airlines’ flights were suspended at Kathmandu airport on December 6, 2018, due to the carrier’s outstanding debts. Operations resumed on March 8, 2019, after the airline made a partial payment of the $355,000 debt owed to the airport, according to a report.
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