Kathmandu, March 7 (HS): A plane landed in Kathmandu from Janakpur in Nepal’s airspace without one wheel and the pilot did not even know about it. However, the plane landed safely and all the passengers are safe.

The landing of Buddha Air’s plane from Janakpur to Kathmandu without one wheel has once again raised questions on Nepal’s air safety. On Thursday evening, Buddha Air’s flight number U4 508 departed from Janakpur at 16:39 pm and landed in Kathmandu at 17:05 pm. During this time, one wheel of the plane was missing. The pilot came to know about this when the plane was being checked before flying to the next destination.

Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul said that the pilot found out that the nose gear was missing during the post-flight check. The spokesperson said that Janakpur Airport was informed to find out about this wheel immediately.

On searching at Janakpur Airport, it was found that one wheel of this plane was lying on the runway and its knot bolts were broken. Gyanendra Bhul said that this wheel had come off while taking a U-turn on the runway. Since the plane is an old model, there is neither a camera nor a sensor on the wheel, due to which the pilot could not get information about it.

The spokesperson of the authority said that immediately after this incident, Buddha Air’s flight 9N AHN was grounded and orders were given to investigate it. The spokesperson said that even after the safe landing of the plane, its technical investigation is necessary. He said that initially it seems to be the negligence of the ground staff of Buddha Air at Janakpur Airport.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar