An 18-member team led by Acting Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAN) Dev Chandra Lal Karna has reached Tribhuvan International Airport with necessary equipment.
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Preparations are underway for a rescue flight from Kathmandu, prioritizing the rescue and technical management of the Buddha Air ATR-72 aircraft (Alpha Mike-Foxtrot) that crashed at Bhadrapur Airport on Friday night.
An 18-member team led by Acting Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAN) Devchandra Lal Karna has reached Tribhuvan International Airport with the necessary equipment. The CAN has stated that the team is preparing to go to Bhadrapur via a relief flight.
According to a senior official of Buddha Air, due to the provision that no more than 18 people can go on a relief flight, 8 more technicians will go to Bhadrapur via a regular flight today.
However, due to low visibility due to fog at the airport in the Terai region, the rescue flight is waiting for the necessary visibility. The CAN has stated that the flight will be operated with priority as soon as the conditions are favorable.
According to the Bhadrapur Airport, the aircraft skidded off the runway during landing and reached a hollow about 150 meters ahead. All four crew members and 51 passengers on board the aircraft have been rescued safely overnight.
The rescue team on Saturday includes Bikram Gautam, Acting Chief of the Safety Directorate of CAN, Teknath Sitaula, Acting General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, Aeronautical Engineer Bidhan Shrestha, along with technical and high-level employees of Buddha Air, Subarna Kharel and Dilip Khadka. The team will work on towing the aircraft, assessing the damage and further risk mitigation.
According to initial details, the cockpit, propeller and livery of the aircraft have been damaged, while the front 'nose' part is buried in the soil. However, Bhadrapur Airport Chief Kishore Kumar Khatri said that there was no major damage to the wings, tail and landing gear.
Further investigation will be carried out into the cause of the incident, CAN has said. Six Buddha Air, four Yeti Airlines and three Shree Airlines flights operate daily at Bhadrapur Airport. The accident flight was Buddha Air's last flight on Friday.
