The obstacle on the runway has been removed with the aircraft being moved to a safe location.
The Buddha Air ATR-72 aircraft that crashed into a creek while exiting the runway at Bhadrapur Airport has finally been moved from the scene to a safe location (within the airport) after 36 hours.
The rescue and relocation of the aircraft, which began at 11 am on Saturday, was completed at 9:30 pm on Sunday, an official working at the scene said.
Three cranes, including a 52-ton main crane, were mobilized on Sunday morning to move the empty aircraft weighing about 14 tons from the bay. About 50-60 people, including 18 technicians from Buddha Air, Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal employees, were mobilized for the rescue operation.
With the relocation of the aircraft to a safe place, the obstruction on the runway has been removed. According to authority sources, flights from Bhadrapur Airport and temporary operations using the short runway are now expected to be facilitated.
After the aircraft relocation is completed, the way has been opened for insurance valuation and a formal investigation into the accident.
Buddha Air's ATR-72 (Mike Foxtrot) aircraft, which had landed on Saturday night after completing its Kathmandu-Bhadrapur flight, skidded off the runway, crossed the field and crashed into a creek. In technical terms, this incident is called a runway excursion. After the incident, the small cranes in Bhadrapur were unable to remove the aircraft, so a large crane with a lifting capacity of 52 tons was ordered from Biratnagar on Sunday. Buddha Air sent a rescue team including 18 technicians from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur on Sunday.
