The Himalayan nation of Nepal, known for some of the world’s most remote and challenging runways surrounded by snow-capped mountains, witnessed another major aviation incident on Monday when a Turkish Airlines aircraft caught fire while landing at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.
The Turkish Airlines Airbus A330, arriving from Istanbul with 277 passengers and 11 crew members on board, experienced a fire in its right landing gear during landing, according to Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul. Flames and smoke were seen coming from the aircraft’s undercarriage as it touched down at the airport.
Emergency response teams acted quickly and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated using emergency slides. No injuries were reported. Authorities temporarily shut down the airport’s only runway for nearly two hours while firefighters brought the situation under control and technical teams began investigations. Several incoming flights were forced to remain in holding patterns until operations resumed later in the morning.
Turkish Airlines later confirmed that smoke was observed coming from the landing gear during taxiing after landing. The airline stated that an initial technical inspection suggested the issue may have been caused by a malfunction in a hydraulic pipe. Further investigations are currently ongoing, and the airline has arranged an additional flight for affected passengers on the return route.
Nepal’s aviation sector has long faced challenges due to the country’s mountainous terrain and rapidly changing weather conditions, making flights particularly demanding even for experienced pilots. Aviation incidents have occurred periodically in the country over the years. In a similar event in 2015, another Turkish Airlines aircraft skidded off Kathmandu’s fog-covered runway during landing, causing the airport to shut down for several days. Fortunately, all passengers survived that incident as well, and the damaged aircraft was later converted into a museum exhibit.
