Despite landing gear failure, passenger plane with 77 on board makes successful landing

Kathmandu: An aircraft of domestic carrier Buddha Air has made a successful landing at Tribhuwan International Airport on Monday morning despite landing gear failure.

The aircraft was unable to land at the Biratnagar Airport and was diverted to Kathmandu. A total of 77 people were on board the flight including 68 adults, two children, three infants and four crew members.

"Pilot made a safe landing with retracted landing gear at 10:21 AM," said Pratap Babu Tiwari, General Manager at TIA. "All medical and emergency facilities were on standby at the time of landing."

According to officials at TIA, all passengers are safe and will be sent to their home or destination as per their choices.

The plane left for Biratnagar at around 8:30 am, but was diverted to Kathmandu due to landing gear retraction problem.

The aircraft was put on hold in the Kathmandu sky for more than half an hour after verification of the problem.