Ordeals faced by 73 Buddha Air passengers

Kathmandu, Sept. 27 On Monday, 73 passengers on board an aircraft belonging to Buddha Airfaced an ordeal in the sky above Biratnagar and Kathmandu.

When the plane bound to Biratnagar from Kathmandu encountered a problem in landing gear when it had reached Biratnagar airport, had to return to Kathmandu and make several rounds in the sky above the airport before it made a ‘normal’ landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Buddha Air's call sign 9N-ANI flight had flown from Kathmandu to Biratnagar at 8:33 am carrying 73 passengers, including three infants, two children and 68 adults, returned to Kathmandu after efforts to land the aircraft despite four to five attempts to land the plane at the Biratnagar airport. There were four crew members in the aircraft.

Upon arriving at the Kathmandu airport, the aircraft made several rounds in the sky of Kathmandu before it made a successful landing after the initially failed wheels of the aircraft opened all of a sudden. For the whole trip, the passengers underwent unimaginable ordeals in the sky with many women passengers crying. According to a press statement issued by Buddha Air, the plane returned to Kathmandu after the air traffic control room in Biratnagar informed that the landing gear of the plane could not be seen open for the landing.

The statement further mentioned that before landing the aircraft, captain AG Sherpa made contact with the technical team of Buddha Air and the Captain was informed that the landing gear opened and remained in the right position.

The airlines has also sought an apology from all the passengers and their families for facing the hassle and informed that the passengers would be taken safely to their destination managing other flights.

The problem arose because of the age of the plane. It was learned that the aircraft was old as it was bought from India after India used it for years.

Meanwhile, another Buddha Air flight bound for Pokhara on Monday returned to Kathmandu after experiencing technical problems in the indicator when it reached Manakamana in Gorkha. It had to return to Kathmandu before reaching Pokhara. The reason was the same, it was also an old aircraft. Of course, private airlines tend to purchase old and cheap planes for commercial flights putting the life of the passengers at high risk.