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Saurya Airlines Flight FER

The fuselage and left wing of the aircraft after the accident
Accident
Date	24 July 2024 (2024-07-24)
Summary	Deep stall during takeoff, improper rotation
Site	Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal 27°42′3″N 85°21′42″E
Aircraft
9N-AME, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 2019 in a previous livery
Aircraft type	Bombardier CRJ200LR
Operator	Saurya Airlines
ICAO flight No.	SAU-FER
Registration	9N-AME
Flight origin	Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
Destination	Pokhara International Airport, Pokhara, Nepal
Occupants	19
Passengers	16
Crew	3
Fatalities	18
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

On 24 July 2024, a Bombardier CRJ200LR operated by Saurya Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, killing 18 out of the 19 people on board. The aircraft was operating a ferry flight to Pokhara to conduct a maintenance check and was carrying three crew members and sixteen passengers, mostly consisting of Saurya employees. During takeoff, the aircraft rapidly rolled both left and right before losing altitude. The right wing collided with the ground to the side of the runway and the aircraft was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire. The captain was the sole survivor of the crash.

The investigation, conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission, determined that the aircraft rotated at an airspeed lower than optimal and the flight crew commanded an abnormally high pitch rate. The result was a deep stall during takeoff that was unrecoverable due to the aircraft's low altitude. Several other contributing factors were also noted by investigators. The V-speeds the crew used were based off an erroneous speedcard that displayed incorrect values. Multiple events at Saurya Airlines involving high pitch rates during takeoff were left unidentified and unaddressed. The loading process of the cargo was negligent; operational and ground handling manuals were violated and the load was not secured. Saurya Airlines suspended all flights following the crash.

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Bombardier CRJ200LR, registered as 9N-AME with manufacturer serial number 7772. It was manufactured in March 2003 and powered by two General Electric CF34-3B1 engines. The aircraft was first delivered to Atlantic Coast Airlines in May 2003 and then entered into service with Saurya Airlines, known then as Kuber Airlines, in March 2017.

In the months leading up to the accident, the aircraft underwent several maintenance events. On 13 March, a survey inspection for the renewal of the aircraft's certificate of airworthiness was carried out. On 26 April, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) issued a flight release certificate, and a test flight was conducted the same day to renew the expired airworthiness certificate. The aircraft was subsequently grounded at Kathmandu and sent to short-term storage. A return to service check was carried out on 24 July in preparation for the flight to Pokhara. The CAAN approved the ferry flight on 23 July. The aircraft was being flown to Pokhara for a C check, an extensive maintenance procedure, and had been grounded for 34 days prior to the flight.

Passengers and crew

The aircraft was carrying 16 passengers, mostly consisting of Saurya Airlines personnel. Most on board were technicians employed to conduct routine maintenance on the aircraft. One of the passengers on the flight was a child, while another was the wife of an airline staff member, who was also on board. There were initially identified as Saurya Airlines employees by the company.

There were three crew members on the flight. The captain and pilot-in-command (PIC) of the flight was 35-year-old Manish Shakya. He had a total of 6,185 flight hours, 4,922 of which on the CRJ-200. He obtained his commercial pilot licence (CPL) from a flying school in the Philippines in 2009 and passed a CPL examination in Nepal later that year. He started flying Beechcraft 1900 aircraft for Guna Airlines in 2012. Shakya joined Saurya Airlines in 2015 and was selected by the airline to begin training on the Bombardier CRJ200. He obtained a CPL in 2015 and an airline transport pilot license (ATPL) on the aircraft in 2016. Saurya Airlines then upgraded him to a PIC and was issued an ATPL for a PIC position in 2017. He was the airline's chief of operations. The first officer was 26-year-old Sushant Katuwal. He had a total of 1,824 flight hours, 1,602 of which on the CRJ-200. He obtained a CPL in South Africa in 2019 and passed a CPL examination in Nepal later that year. He conducted ground training in Lithuania and simulator training in Lufthansa Aviation Training GmbH in Germany but failed the simulator test on his first attempt. A third person, Yemeni engineer Aref Reda, was serving as a supernumerary crew member.

Accident

CCTV images of the aircraft banking sharply before the crash

On 24 July 2024, the aircraft was scheduled to fly from Tribhuvan International Airport to Pokhara International Airport with flight number SAU-FER. First Officer Katuwal was the first crew member to enter the aircraft and he started preparing the aircraft for the flight. Saurya Airline personnel and ground staff loaded the cargo bay completely full. They also loaded the cabin with passenger baggage and other equipment. At 10:08 Nepal Standard Time (NPT, UTC+05:45), the first officer began performing pre-flight checks. Thirty minutes later, the flight dispatcher gave details on the weight and balance of the aircraft, which Katuwal used to calculate the V-speeds. Captain Shakya arrived in the cockpit at 10:40. For the next 20 minutes, the crew and other people on board had discussions relating to the planned maintenance check, the destination airport, and other topics not related to the safety of the flight. The engine start-up procedure began at 11:02.

The pilots began taxiing the aircraft to the threshold of Runway 2. The aircraft entered runway 02, backtracked and began the take-off roll at 11:10:35. Twenty seconds later, Shahkya began rotating at an airspeed of 120 kn (220 km/h) and the pitch rapidly increased to 13°. Immediately after takeoff, the aircraft rolled to the right, then sharply banked to the left, followed by another right roll, before the right wingtip struck the ground. One airport official reported hearing "cracking noises" emanating from the aircraft just before the crash. This impact triggered a fire, and the fuselage of the aircraft slid into a 130-foot gorge located east of the runway, between an aircraft hangar and a radar station. The firefighters arrived on the scene one minute after the impact. Footage of the incident showed firefighters extinguishing the blaze while attempting to rescue survivors. Civil aviation officials later reported that the cockpit was separated from the main fuselage by a freight container just before the main body struck the ground. The cockpit became lodged in the container, while the rest of the aircraft continued to slide further down the gorge.

Smoke rising from the crash site after impact

The latest METAR report indicated a visibility of 8 km, with few clouds at 1,000 feet, and scattered clouds at 3000 feet above ground level. However, the Associated Press reported that visibility was low across Kathmandu at the time of the accident.

Out of the 19 people on board, 18 people were killed in the crash. The captain was the only survivor and was transported to Kathmandu Medical College with non-life-threatening injuries.

Aftermath

Tribhuvan International Airport was temporarily shut down following the disaster, and domestic flights at various airports were halted. Saurya Airlines suspended all flights following the accident.

Several political figures, including Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Civil Aviation Minister Badri Pandey and Chairman of the State Affairs Committee Ram Hari Khatiwada, visited the crash site while the rescue operations were still ongoing, and offered their condolences. The presence of high profile government officials was widely criticized by the public due to concerns about interference with rescue operations, security and logistical challenges, and the perception of political exploitation.

Later that same day, Prime Minister Oli called for an emergency cabinet meeting. During the meeting, it was decided to establish a five-member commission to investigate the crash, in accordance with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Regulation of 2014. The government also declared that the national flag would be flown at half-mast the following day in honor of the crash victims.

Three passengers survived the impact but died later in the hospital. The bodies of the victims were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsies. The captain was rescued "within five minutes of the crash," and received head and facial injuries, and fractured bones in his back.

Investigation

Both flight recorders of the aircraft were recovered from the crash site and were sent to the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore for analysis, under supervision of Nepal's Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (AAIC) and with representatives from Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States.

Preliminary report

On 5 September, the AAIC released the preliminary report on the crash. Based on data from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, the aircraft rotated excessively during takeoff at 11:10:55 NPT, briefly pitching up at a rate of 8.6° per second. The aircraft reached a maximum height of just 100 ft (30 m) above ground level at 11:11:03 NPT seven seconds before the right wingtip impacted the ground. The stick shaker activated multiple times within an eight-second timespan between 11:10:58 and 11:11:04 NPT.

The preliminary report also highlighted oversights at the airline that were deemed critical. The report revealed how Saurya Airlines was not complying with the proper procedures for loading aircraft, including properly weighing and securing loads. The V speeds calculated for the flight, and those recorded in the flight data recorder (FDR) differed significantly from the values listed in the Quick Reference Handbook.

Final report

On 14 July 2025, the AAIC released the final report of the crash, which stated that the accident was caused by excessive pitch control inputs made below rotation speed. The crew had also miscalculated the V speeds using erroneous data. The airline was also found to be negligent in complying with flight preparation and loading. The probable cause of the accident was written as follows:

The most probable cause of the accident was a deep stall during take-off because of an abnormally rapid pitch rate commanded at a lower than optimal rotation speed.

The contributing factors were:

1. Incorrect speeds calculated based on erroneous speedcard. The interpolated speedcard of the operator for 18,500 kg TOW mentions incorrect V-speeds for take-off. This error in the speedcard went unnoticed since its development. There was no acceptance/approval of the speedcard booklet.

2. Failure to identify and address multiple previous events of high pitch rate during take-off by the operator.

3. The operator showed gross negligence in complying with the prevailing practices of ferry flight planning, preparation and execution. There is a lack of consistent definition of ferry flights.

4. Gross negligence and non-compliances by the operator during the entire process of cargo and baggage handling (weighing, loading, distribution and latching), while violating the provisions of operational manual and ground handling manual. The load was not adequately secured with straps, tie-downs, or nets, while the flight preparation was rushed.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
• List of airplane accidents in Nepal
• List of sole survivors of aviation accidents and incidents
• Yeti Airlines Flight 691
• Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268