18 dead in Nepal aircraft crash

A Saurya Airlines aircraft crashed immediately after it took off from Kathmandu airport this morning at 11:11AM. 18 of the 19 people on board died, all of them Saurya Airlines engineers and staff. There was a Yemen national among the dead, as well as the wife and child of an employee of the Airlines. 

The flight, with call sign 9N-AME, was undergoing a C Check, which is a comprehensive test that a plane has to pass on a regular basis. The plane was headed to a hangar in the Pokhara International Airport for a part check-up. 

It is unclear why a test flight was carrying so many passengers. 

Footage shows the plane making it about 30 metres high before violently veering right and crashing east of the runway. It plummeted into the ground and burst into flames, skidding ablaze into a container. The plane body was incinerated. 

According to a press release by Nepal Police, 18 bodies were recovered and taken to Teaching Hospital for post-mortem. Captain Manish Ratna Shakya is the only survivor of the crash. Shakya sustained injuries to his eye and will survive. He is being treated at Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamangal, near the airport. 

Prime Minister K P Oli got to the accident site for further investigation. Domestic and International flights have since resumed.