Lucky escape for passengers and crew as Turkish Airlines jet skids off runway
Date March 5, 2015 - 4:32PM
Lisa Visentin
Nose down: TheTurkish Airlines Airbus A330 lies on a field after it overshot the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Photo: Reuters
All passengers and crew on a Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 have escaped with their lives after their plane skidded off the runway as it landed in dense fog in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday.
Flight THY726 from Istanbul, carrying 224 passengers and 11 crew members, overshot the runway before coming to a halt near the fire station at Tribhuvan International Airport, the Hindustan Times reported.
Video footage shows passengers using the plane's emergency inflatable slides to leave the aircraft, which was nose-down in grassland.
Eerie: Rescue and military personnel surround a Turkish Airlines jet after it skidded off the runway on landing at Kathmandu airport. Photo: AFP
All passengers and crew escaped without serious injury, suffering only bumps and bruises, officials said.
The plane was reportedly trying to land in dense fog and the runway was slippery after two days of rain.
Airport spokesman Purna Prasad Chudal said the pilot overshot the runway during an initial attempt to land, before making a second try that sent the plane skidding off the tarmac.
Sunil Thapa, an official with Turkish Airlines said: "As it was about to land on the second time, there was fog again and the pilots had trouble making a smooth landing."
The plane reportedly circled over Nepal for half an hour before the second attempt was made.
"As the plane approached, it somehow missed the runway and ended up in the grassland area," said the airport's general manager Birendra Prasad Shrestha.
Dikesh Malhotra, who was returning from a business trip, said the impact of the landing caused bags to fall on terrified passengers, who clutched their seats, anxiously waiting for the plane to stop moving.
"We could feel the tyres skid ... I could see an air hostess from my seat, she had tears in her eyes," Mr Malhotra, 28, said.
When the plane stopped, smoke filled the cabin, making it difficult to breathe, he said.
"Everyone got up and started shouting to open the door ... finally they announced evacuation ... we were so relieved," he said.
The Hindustan Times reported that government officials last year announced plans to install new radar and weather monitoring systems, after string of crashes as well as a decision by the European Union to blacklist all Nepalese airlines.
