International News

KATHMANDU, (APP/AFP) – A plane with nine
passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Kathmandu airport Wednesday, an aviation official said, a week after two deadly crashes highlighted Nepal’s dismal air safety record.
The 19-seater plane was taking off for Lukla, known as the gateway to
Mount Everest, when a bird struck its right wing, Kathmandu airport official Ranjan Bhattarai said.
“The Lukla-bound Goma Air plane made an emergency landing… within
three to four minutes of takeoff, due to a bird hit,” Bhattarai told AFP.
“No passengers were harmed,” he said, adding that engineers were
inspecting the grounded aircraft for signs of damage.
The incident comes a week after two deadly plane crashes in the
impoverished Himalayan nation, whose air safety record is blamed largely on
inadequate maintenance, inexperienced pilots and poor management.
A Twin Otter turboprop aircraft slammed into a mountainside in Nepal
last Wednesday killing all 23 people on board.
Two days later, two pilots were killed when a small passenger plane
crash-landed in the country’s hilly midwest.
Birds have traditionally posed a serious safety concern for
Kathmandu’s airport, which is located close to forested hills.