Turkish wide-body plane grounded after fire in right main landing gear, passengers taken to hotel
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Flight services at Tribhuvan International Airport, which was closed on Monday morning following the Turkish Airlines incident, have resumed operations after about an hour and a half.
According to Gyanendra Bhul, joint spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the airport was closed at 6:34 am after a fire broke out in the right main landing gear of the Turkish aircraft and resumed operations at 8:12 am.
During the incident, the Turkish Airlines wide-body aircraft was stuck on taxiway 'Bravo'. As about 30 percent of the aircraft was on the taxiway and the remaining 70 percent was on the runway, all domestic and international flights and airport operations had to be suspended.
There were a total of 288 people on board the aircraft. Of these, 273 were passengers, 11 crew members and 4 infants, according to the airport office. According to initial information, the right main landing gear of the aircraft was on fire (tire on fire). It is said that the possible causes of the fire could be a hard landing, tire pressure or other technical reasons. But a detailed investigation is underway.
According to Joint Spokesperson Bhul, the passengers were safely evacuated through an emergency slide. According to him, the airline has informed the airport that two passengers suffered minor injuries to their fingers.
After the incident, the aircraft has been grounded and arrangements have been made to accommodate 279 passengers who were preparing to fly from Kathmandu in a hotel. Preparations are being made to send essential passengers to their destination by other aircraft.
The aircraft is currently completely grounded (flights stopped) and technical checks are being carried out. The aircraft's maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) team will investigate at Tribhuvan Airport. The flight safety department of the authority will also conduct a detailed examination. "We have started a detailed technical study of the incident," said Joint Spokesperson Bhul.
Turkish Airlines operates five flights a week in Nepal, connecting Nepal with Europe, the US and Canada. It is considered one of the major airlines operating long-haul flights to Nepal. 
