Turkish: In a shocking incident, the tyre of a Turkish Airlines aircraft caught fire while landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday morning. The flight was en route from Istanbul to Kathmandu when it caught fire on the right tyre while landing. This triggered an evacuation and rescue of the passengers.
Police officials have confirmed that all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.
“The aircraft with call sign TK726 was en route to Kathmandu from Istanbul, and the tyre had caught fire while landing. Using the fire engine, it has been contained. All the passengers are safely evacuated,” SP Rajkumar Silawal from the airport security told news agency in a telephonic conversation.
As per the official, there were a total of 278 passengers and 11 crew members on the flight. The passengers also included some United Nations (UN) officials.
Incident’s video circulating online
In an alleged video circulating on social media, fire is seen on the right landing gear of the aircraft, sending a thick plume of grey smoke.
No official statement or announcement has been made by the airport or the airline company over the incident.
2015 Tribhuvan Airport incident
Turkish Airlines has been involved in similar incidents at Tribhuvan International Airport.
In 2015, an aircraft of the company had skidded off the runway and veered onto the grassy shoulder after losing balance during landing. This had forced the airport to remain shut for four days.
Initial reports at the time suggested that a loss of situation awareness of the flight captain during the final approach resulted in the Airbus A330 missing the runway’s centre line.
The flight with the same call-sign TK726 from Istanbul was carrying 224 people when it ploughed into the grassland on the left side of the runway at Kathmandu’s fog-covered airport.
No passengers were hurt during the incident, but all the passengers were evacuated through the emergency doors.
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