However, this isn't the first incident here. From hijack to accidents, the Tribhuvan International Airport has witnessed all adversaries. Here's a list:
- 10 May 1972: A Thai Airways Douglas DC-8 overran the runway on landing. 100 passengers and 10 crew on board, there was one casualty.
- 31 July 1992: An Airbus A310-304 (Thai Airways International Flight 311) crashed into a mountain while approaching Kathmandu, killing, reportedly, all 113 people on board.
- 28 September 1992: Airbus A300 B4-203 (PIA Flight 268) crashed. 167 on board got killed.
- 17 January 1995: Royal Nepal Airlines, flight RA133 from Kathmandu to Rumjatar, had problems getting airborne. The aircraft struck the airfield perimeter fence. As per reports, one crew member and one passenger were killed.
- 7 July 1999: Five minutes after takeoff, a Boeing 727-200F of Lufthansa Cargo Airlines, crashed in the Champadevi hills.
- 5 September 1999: Necon Air Flight 128 from Pokhara to Kathmandu, crashed while approaching the airport. 10 passengers and 5 crew were killed.
- 26 December 1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814 was hijacked en route from Kathmandu to Delhi. The plane ended up in Kandahar, Afghanistan. As per reports, Indian Airlines had suspended all flights to and from Nepal for some time, fearing a lack of security at check-in.
AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN- FILE - 15 December 2010: A Tara Air De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 en route to Tribhuvan Airport from Lamidanda Airport, lost signal 162 km east of Kathmandu and crashed. All 19 passengers and three crew members were killed.
- 28 September 2012: Sita Air Flight 601 crashed soon after take-off, after apparently hitting a bird. All passengers and crew members were killed.
- 4 March 2015: A Turkish Airlines (Airbus A330-300) skid off the runway after attempting to land in dense fog. Plane skidded into soft grass.
- 12 March 2018: A US Bangla Airlines Flight 211, crash-landed and caught fire.
AFP PHOTO / Prakash MATHEMA
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About Tribhuvan International Airport:
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is an international airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airport is about six kilometres from the city centre, in the Kathmandu valley and is, reportedly, the sole international airport in the landlocked country. It has served as an airfield since 1949 and was inaugurated in 1955 by King Mahendra.
Tribhuvan name was given in 1964. Airport was originally a grass runway. The first jet aircraft landed at Tribhuvan in 1967 and from 1972, regular jet operations commenced.
It has one domestic and one international terminal.
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About the author: Author Anurag Kumar is an Associate Producer in ABP News Network Pvt Ltd and tweets at @AnuragSason