KATHMANDU, MAR 04 - Dikesh Malhotrawas one of the 224 passengers aboard Turkish Airlines that crash landed at Tribhuvan International Airport, after the plane missed the runway central line, at around 7:45 this morning. All passengers have been reported safe. The aircraft was told to circle the sky for a long time due to poor visibility. Here is Dikesh’s account:
They say to survive a plane crash is a miracle. I guess I was a part of the miracle happened today.
The pilot tried landing twice. During the first attempt, the plane was very close to landing but then immediately reverted back into the air due to poor visibility. After that the plane kept circling for another 15-20 minutes. At this point, panic ensued because it is unusual for a plane to go back in the air, just as it was landing.
Then, when things looked a little clear, the pilot made a second attempt at landing, but then as the plane was approaching the runway, I looked outside and saw nothing because the fog was so dense and before I could comprehend any further there was a sudden impact, the plane missed the runway and started skidding.
I was seated near the emergency exit door and saw the airhostess panicking. It was a scary.
Bags spilled from the overhead compartment and injured some passengers. Then, things came to a halt and the pilot asked us to calm down. We were inside the plane for about ten minutes. For some reason, smoke started filling the passenger cabin, which doubled the panic. Everyone wanted to just get out. Ten minutes later, the emergency exit opened and one by one we left the plane, leaving our bags behind.
I think the pilot did a great job. When I looked out of the plane I could see nothing because of the dense fog. It was an extremely scary situation and to fly a plane in such condition must have been extremely challenging. I am glad no one was seriously hurt.
Malhotra is the President of Integrated Mobility Solutions which is the National Distributor of Samsung phones in Nepal. Malhotra and his father were in Spain for the launch of Samsung Galaxy 6. Malhotra talked to eKantipur English’s Chahana Sigdel
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