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Turkish Airlines landing gear fire shuts Kathmandu airport for 98 minutes
All flights at Tribhuvan International Airport were suspended after the aircraft caught fire in its right main landing gear following landing. Two passengers sustained minor injuries.
Suraj Kunwar
Flight operations at Tribhuvan International Airport 
resumed 98 minutes after the airport was shut down on Monday morning following an incident involving a Turkish Airlines aircraft.
According to Gyanendra Bhul, assistant spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the airport was closed at 6:34am after a fire broke out in the aircraft’s right main landing gear. Flight operations resumed at 8:12am.
During the incident, the airline’s wide-body aircraft became stranded on Taxiway Bravo. Airport officials said around 30 percent of the aircraft remained on the taxiway while the remaining 70 percent was positioned on the runway, forcing authorities to halt all domestic and international flights.
A total of 288 people were on board the aircraft, including 11 crew members, according to the airport office. Preliminary information showed that a tyre on the aircraft’s right main landing gear had caught fire.
Officials said possible causes could include a hard landing, tyre pressure issues or other technical problems, although a detailed investigation is ongoing.
Bhul said passengers were evacuated safely using
evacuation slides. According to information provided to the airport by the airline, two passengers sustained minor injuries to their fingers.
Following the incident, the aircraft has been grounded, and hotel arrangements have been made for passengers scheduled to depart from Kathmandu. Authorities are also preparing to send urgent travellers to their destinations on alternative flights.
The aircraft remains grounded while technical inspections continue. A maintenance, repair and overhaul team will investigate at the airport, while the Civil Aviation Authority’s Flight Safety Standard Department will also carry out a detailed inquiry.
“We have begun a detailed technical assessment of the incident,” Bhul said.
Turkish Airlines operates five weekly flights to Nepal from Istanbul.
Panic at Athens as Lufthansa Flight Makes Emergency Return
Kosta Papadopoulos
Scenes of panic unfolded at Athens International Airport
Eleftherios Venizelos after a Lufthansa aircraft bound for Munich made an emergency return to Athens following a technical warning shortly after take-off.
Flight LH1753 departed Athens at 18:19 carrying 184 passengers and crew members before the cockpit crew informed travellers approximately 16 minutes later that the aircraft would return to the airport as a precaution due to a fault indication.
The aircraft landed safely at the airport, but emergency evacuation procedures began almost immediately after touchdown, causing alarm among passengers.
Cabin crew opened the emergency exits and deployed inflatable evacuation slides on the captain’s orders, instructing passengers to leave the aircraft quickly.
Witnesses described moments of confusion and panic as passengers rushed to disembark while following crew instructions.
The evacuation via emergency slides raised further concern among travellers. In a statement issued later in the evening, Lufthansa confirmed that three passengers suffered minor injuries and were transferred to a hospital in Athens for first aid treatment.
Fire engines and airport security teams rushed to the scene in line with emergency response procedures.
Firefighters and airport personnel coordinated the
evacuation and escorted passengers to a safe area inside the terminal.
The flight had departed normally for Munich before the captain reported a technical issue, prompting the immediate decision to return to Athens for inspections.
Authorities did not disclose the exact nature of the problem. However, passengers reported that they did not see smoke or any visible issue that would explain the use of emergency slides.
The flight was ultimately cancelled because the aircraft’s emergency evacuation equipment, including the slides, was deployed and required replacement before the plane could return to service.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2026/05/12/panic-at-athens-as-lufthansa-flight-makes-emergency-return/?amp
Malaysia Airlines flight bursts tyre at Hong Kong airport; no injuries reported
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH79, bound for Kuala Lumpur, aborted taking off from the airport’s South Runway due to “technical issues,” the Airport Authority said. “During deceleration, a tyre burst, and the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the taxiway.”
by Hans Tse
A Malaysia Airlines flight burst a tyre on Monday after aborting take-off at Hong Kong International Airport due to “technical issues,” but no injuries were reported.
The Airport Authority (AA) said the tyre burst occurred at around 9.18am on Monday.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH79, bound for Kuala Lumpur, aborted taking off from the airport’s South Runway due to “technical issues,” the AA said.
“During deceleration, a tyre burst, and the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the taxiway.”
Following established procedures, the authority said, it 
arranged for a tow truck to remove the aircraft from the taxiway. “No injuries were reported,” it added.
Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the plane “discontinued take-off following a tyre-related issue.”
“The aircraft was safely brought to a stop in accordance with standard operating procedures. All passengers and crew are safe,” the company told HKFP in an emailed reply.
Photos circulating on social media show the burst tyre and several fire engines standing by next to the aircraft. One photo posted to Facebook shows an airport personnel member checking the burst tyre.
MH79 was originally scheduled to depart at 8.45am and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 12.45pm. Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 shows that MH79 did not take off and returned to the ramp at the airport.
Malaysia Airlines said it “deeply regrets” the incident and that it was working on rebooking passengers on alternative flights or carriers.
Following the incident, the airport’s South Runway was closed for a routine inspection, the AA said. “Meanwhile, other flights used the Centre Runway for take-off and airport operations were largely normal.”
The South Runway reopened shortly after 10am on Monday, the authority added.
Malaysia Airlines flight bursts tyre at Hong Kong airport; no injuries reported
NTSB Final Report: Arion Aircraft LLC Lightning LS-1
Pilot Reported That The Wind Speed At The Airport Had Increased Significantly Since His Departure About 1 Hour Earlier
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky Accident Number: ERA26LA042
Date & Time: November 14, 2025, 14:00 Local Registration: N897PR
Aircraft: Arion Aircraft LLC Lightning LS-1 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control on ground Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
Analysis: The pilot reported that the wind speed at the airport had increased significantly since his departure about 1 hour earlier. He stated that at touchdown, an unexpected strong wind gust lifted the right wing, and the left wingtip contacted the runway. The airplane subsequently veered to the left and collided with an airport sign, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine mount. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot was landing with a 20° right-quartering headwind at 12 knots.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot's loss of directional control while landing in a strong quartering headwind, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with an airport sign.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
16 Years ago today: On 12 May 2010 Afriqiyah Airways flight 771, an Airbus A330-202, crashed on approach to Tripoli International Airport, Libya. There were 11 crew members and 93 passengers on board. One passenger survived the accident.
| Date: | Wednesday 12 May 2010 |
| Time: | 06:01 |
| Type: | Airbus A330-202 |
| Owner/operator: | Afriqiyah Airways |
| Registration: | 5A-ONG |
| MSN: | 1024 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2175 hours |
| Cycles: | 572 flights |
| Engine model: | GE CF6-80E1A4 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 103 / Occupants: 104 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | ca 0,9 km W of Tripoli International Airport (TIP) - Libya |
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB/FAOR) |
| Destination airport: | Tripoli International Airport (TIP/HLLT) |
| Investigating agency: | CAA Libya |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Afriqiyah Airways flight 771, an Airbus A330-202, crashed on approach to Tripoli International Airport, Libya. There were 11 crew members and 93 passengers on board. One passenger survived the accident.
On May 11, 2010 at 19:45 UTC, the aircraft departed Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), South Africa on an international passenger flight to Tripoli. The co-pilot was pilot flying. The en route part of the flight was uneventful.
The captain contacted the Tripoli ACC controller at 05:29 local time (02:29 UTC) and received clearance direct to Tripoli for a TW locator approach to runway 09. Weather was reported as: wind calm, visibility 6 km, clear sky, temperature/dew point 19/17°C, QNH 1008. After receiving further descent clearances, the crew contacted the Tripoli Tower controller at 05:58. Tripoli Tower cleared the aircraft to continue the approach and to report runway in sight.
The flight then received information from a flight that had landed ahead of them, informing the accident crew about fog patches noticed during short final.
At 06:00 the flight passed the TW locator beacon at an altitude of 1000 feet, 200 ft below the prescribed altitude. The captain then informed ATC that he would report when runway in sight. The approach was continued below the Minimum Descent Altitude of 620 feet but the crew still did not have the runway in sight. At an altitude of 280 feet the GPWS sounded ('too low terrain'). The captain then instructed the co-pilot to execute a go-around, after which he informed the Tower controller. The aircraft began to climb, reaching an altitude of 450 feet above ground level. The Airbus then nosed down, causing the captain to take priority over the flight controls by pushing on priority button and the aircraft was fully under the captain's control who applied a sharp nose down input. The captain did not verbally state that he was taking control. He applied a pitch-up and a pitch-down input on his stick until the airplane impacted the ground 1200 m from the threshold of runway 09 with high energy (-4400 ft/min) and high longitudinal velocity (260 kts).
The aircraft broke up, leaving an 800 m long wreckage trail.
PROBABLE CAUSE:
A final approach carried out in common managed guidance mode should have relieved the crew of their tasks. The limited coordination and cooperation between the two crew members, especially the change into vertical selected guidance mode by the PF, probably led to a lack of a common action plan.
The lack of feedback from the 28 April 2010 flight, flown by the same crew on the same aircraft, did not allow them to anticipate the potential risks associated with managing non-precision approaches.
The pilots' performance was likely impaired because of fatigue, but the extent of their impairment and the degree to which it contributed to the performance deficiencies that occurred during the flight cannot be conclusively determined.
During the go-around, the crew was surprised not to acquire visual references. On one hand the crew feared exceeding the aircraftÂ’s speed limits in relation to its configuration, and on the other hand they were feeling the effects of somatogravic illusion due to the aircraft acceleration. This probably explains the aircraft handling inputs, mainly nose-down inputs, applied during the go-around. These inputs were not consistent with what is expected in this flight phase. The degraded CRM did not make it possible for either crew member to identify and recover from the situation before the collision with the ground, even when the TAWS warnings were activated close to the ground.
Based on elements from the investigation, the accident resulted from:
- The lack of common action plan during the approach and a final approach continued below the MDA, without ground visual reference acquired.
- The inappropriate application of flight control inputs during a go- around and on the activation of TAWS warnings,
- The lack of monitoring and controlling of the flight path.
These events can be explained by the following factors:
- Limited CRM on approach that degraded during the missed approach. This degradation was probably amplified by numerous radio-communications during the final approach and the crewÂ’s state of fatigue,
- Aircraft control inputs typical in the occurrence of somatogravic perceptual illusions,
- Inappropriate systematic analysis of flight data and feedback mechanism within the AFRIQIYAH Airways.
- Non adherence to the company operation manual, SOP and standard terminology.
In addition, the investigation committee found the following as contributing factors to the accident:
- Weather available to the crew did not reflect the actual weather situation in the final approach segment at Tripoli International Airport.
- In adequacy of training received by the crew.
- Occupancy of tower frequency by both air and ground movements control.
