Government forms five-member commission to investigate Saurya Airlines plane crash

KATHMANDU, July 24: The government has formed a five-member Commission to investigate the crash that took place this morning involving an aircraft of Saurya Airlines.     

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Prithvisubba Gurung shared that an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers held today at Singha Durbar formed the commission under the leadership of former Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Ratish Chandra Lal Suman.     

Captain Dipuraj Jwarchan of Nepal Airlines Corporation, Professor Kuldeep Bhattarai of Pulchok Campus, Engineer Sanjay Adhikari of Shree Airlines are other members of the commission. Mukesh Dangol, an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) officer under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, is the member-secretary.     

 The Commission has been given 45 days to investigate incident and submit a report. According to the Communications Minister Gurung, a decision has also been made to establish a provision whereby the airlines company operating the domestic and foreign airlines in the country to carry out a mandatory technical test of the aircraft, with CAAN closely monitor it to prevent air crashes in the future.     

Meanwhile, the government has decided to fly the national flag at half-mast on Thursday to mourn the fatal incidentA total of 18 people were killed when the Saurya Airlines aircraft heading to Pokhara from Kathmandu crashed soon after take-off at the Tribhuvan International Airport. The pilot of the plane, Manish Ratna Shakya, however survived with injuries. He is currently undergoing treatment at KMC Hospital in Sinamangal, Kathmandu.