Aircraft Was Attempting To Land In The Wrong Direction At Tribhuvan Airport

A airliner carrying 71 passengers and crew impacted terrain on approach to Kathmandu's Tribhuvan Airport in Nepal on Monday. Media reports say that at least 49 people were fatally injured when the plane went down and caught fire.

CNN reports that the plane belonged to US-Bangla Airlines, a privately-owned carrier based in Bangladesh. It was arriving at Nepal from Dhaka, Bangladesh, but attempted to land in the wrong direction, according to the report.

Tribhuvan Airport general manager Raj Kumar Chhetri told CNN that the plane was cleared to land from the south, but "instead landed from the northern side. Authorities do not know why they did not land from the southern side," Chhetri said.

A retired American living in Kathmandu who witnessed the accident told CNN that she saw the plane's approach from her rooftop. She said the plane was flying "very low" before the accident. She said that the plane made a sharp turn before losing more altitude and then impacting terrain.

According to Flightradar24, the plane was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.

(Image from YouTube video posted by user ODN)

FMI: Original report