Aviation
Passenger Plane With 288 On Board Guts Fire After Landing
A packed passenger plane caught fire after landing , forcing a mass evacuation of nearly 288 people on board and an airport shutdown.
The Turkish Airlines flight, heading from Istanbul to Kathmandu, was set ablaze after a spark went off in the jet’s landing gear, authorities said.
A spokesperson for Nepal’s civil aviation agency said: “All aboard are safe, the rescue part is over. We are now investigating the accident.”
The airport’s only runway was closed for almost two hours on Monday morning following the terrifying ordeal, but it has since reopened.
Several incoming flights were suspended following the saga as the runway was checked and cleared.
A Turkish Airlines spokesperson said: “Technical inspections of the aircraft have been initiated by our teams.
“Initial ?assessments indicate ?that the smoke was caused by a technical malfunction in a hydraulic ?pipe.”
Images showed the moments after the dramatic ordeal, with huge emergency slides seen deployed underneath the aircraft.
Smoke was also seen billowing from the plane’s right rear tyre as it touched down at Tribhuvan International Airport in the Nepalese capital.
There were 288 passengers and 11 crew members on board – all of whom were evacuated down the inflatable slides.
The plane was doused before it was safely towed to the taxiway.