Kathmandu [Nepal], May 11 (ANI): Turkish Airlines on Monday said that no injuries were occurred and that an additional flight had been provided for the onward leg, after smoke was observed during landing on one of its aircrafts in Kathmandu this morning.
In a statement Yahya Ustun, Senior Vice President Communications said, “Following the normal landing of our Airbus A330 type aircraft, registered TC-JNP, which operated flight TK726 numbered Istanbul-Kathmandu on the runway, upon smoke being observed in the landing gears on the taxiway, passenger evacuation was carried out by opening the slide as a precaution in accordance with the instructions of the tower teams. The evacuation process has been successfully completed, and no injuries have occurred. An additional flight has been scheduled for the return leg of the relevant flight, and technical examinations of our aircraft have been initiated by our authorized teams. Initial examinations indicate that the smoke originated from a technical malfunction in the hydraulic pipe.”
Earlier reports from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu said that the Turkish Airlines aircraft’s tyres caught fire while landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on early Monday morning.
Police confirmed that all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. The flight en-route from Istanbul to Kathmandu caught fire on the right tyres while landing, triggering the evacuation and rescue of all the passengers.
“The aircraft with call sign TK726 was en-route to Kathmandu from Istanbul, and the tyre had caught fire while landing. Using the fire engine, it has been contained. All the passengers are safely evacuated,” SP Rajkumar Silawal from the airport security told ANI in a telephonic conversation.
As per the official, there were a total of 278 passengers and 11 crew members on the flight. The passengers also included some United Nations officials. (ANI)