A Turkish Airlines passenger aircraft carrying 288 people caught fire shortly after landing at Nepal’s capital, triggering a rapid evacuation and temporarily shutting down operations at the airport.
The flight, which travelled from Istanbul to Kathmandu, reportedly experienced a technical issue involving the landing gear immediately after touchdown at Tribhuvan International Airport.
According to Nepal’s civil aviation authorities, the incident was caused by a spark linked to the aircraft’s landing gear, which led to smoke and fire near the rear section of the plane.
“All aboard are safe, the rescue part is over. We are now investigating the accident,” a spokesperson said.
There were 277 passengers and 11 crew members on board, all of whom were evacuated safely using inflatable emergency slides as smoke billowed from the aircraft’s right rear tyre area.
Footage from the scene showed emergency slides deployed beneath the aircraft as airport responders worked quickly to contain the situation. The plane was later extinguished, inspected, and towed to a taxiway.
Turkish Airlines confirmed that technical inspections have begun on the aircraft, adding that early assessments suggest a possible hydraulic pipe malfunction as the source of the smoke.
Airport operations at Tribhuvan International Airport were suspended for nearly two hours, affecting several incoming flights, before the runway was cleared and reopened.
Authorities have launched a full investigation into the incident.
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