Cause of deadly Nepal plane crash revealed after government probe

Only the captain survived the fiery crash

Faulty information regarding an aircraft's takeoff speed led to a passenger plane crash in Nepal in 2024 that claimed 18 lives, a government-appointed investigation panel has concluded.

The CRJ-200LR aircraft, operated by Nepal's Saurya Airlines, went down shortly after departing Kathmandu in July 2024.

All 17 passengers and the co-pilot perished in the incident, with only the captain surviving, likely because the cockpit got stuck on a container.

The flight was bound for Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city and a major tourist gateway for trekking and adventure sports.

Saurya Airlines said that of the total on board, 18 were Nepali citizens while one engineer was from Yemen.

The report, issued on Friday, attributed the crash to a "deep stall during take-off because of abnormally rapid pitch rate commanded at a lower-than-optimal rotation speed".

Army personnel and other officials stand around the debris of a Saurya Airlines flight after it crashed during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on 24 July 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Aviation expert Nagendra Prasad Ghimire said that the aircraft made a premature takeoff before gaining the necessary speed.

The report said errors in a speed card – a document that provides important airspeed information for a specific aircraft, particularly during takeoff, climb and landing – had gone unnoticed.

It said the airline had failed to address previous cases of a high pitch rate – the rate at which an aircraft's nose rotates up or down – during take-off.

There had been gross negligence and non-compliance by the operator during the entire process of cargo and baggage handling, it said.

It recommended all operators review their speed cards and comply with the requirements of cargo and baggage handling.

Security personnel gather near the burning Saurya Airlines flight after it crashed (AFP via Getty Images)

The panel also asked the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to review the procedure for permitting non-scheduled flights.

CAAN spokesman Babu Ram Paudel declined to comment, saying he had not seen the report.

Saurya Airlines will do "everything necessary" to implement the recommendations, operation manager Bivechan Khanal said.

The crash focused attention on the poor air safety record of landlocked Nepal, which is heavily dependent on air connectivity.

In 2013 the European Union, citing safety concerns, banned air carriers certified in Nepal from flying the European sky.