Saurya Airlines plane was to arrive in Pokhara for technical examination

POKHARA, July 24: Spokesperson of the Pokhara International Airport, Jasoda Subedi, has said that the Saurya Airlines aircraft that crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu this morning was being flown to Pokhara for a technical inspection as the hangar in Pokhara airport is well-equipped and advanced.

The plane with the call sign 9N AME had fell into a ditch to the east of the runway at TIA while taking off for Pokhara. Eighteen people on board the aircraft have been killed in the air crash. 

"The aircraft was to fly to Pokhara for undergoing a technical examination that is required as per the regular schedule after flying certain hours, and not because of any fault with the aircraft," she said. 

She added: "Information was received that the Airlines' employees and technicians were on board the aircraft that was being flown in here for a regular technical test, parking it at the well-appointed hangar at Pokhara."