Kathmandu, Nepal: A Buddha Air passenger aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at Bhadrapur Airport on Friday night, in an incident that raised safety concerns but ended with all onboard safe and uninjured, officials and airline sources said.
The turboprop aircraft, an ATR 72-500 registered as 9N-AMF, operating as Flight U4-901 from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, overshot the end of the runway late Friday evening and came to rest on grassy ground beyond the runway surface.
According to flight and official data, the aircraft landed at approximately 21:06 local time (about 9:06 pm) and overran the runway by an estimated 165–200 metres before stopping near a creek beyond the runway’s end.
All 51 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight were evacuated safely with no reported injuries, Nepal Police and airport authorities confirmed. Jhapa district officials said emergency protocols were activated immediately, and passengers were brought out of the aircraft without harm.
Buddha Air issued a statement confirming that the aircraft veered off the runway during landing and dispatched a technical and relief team from Kathmandu to assess the plane and manage operational follow-up. The flight was the last scheduled service on the Kathmandu–Bhadrapur sector for the night and was expected to lay over at Bhadrapur Airport before returning to Kathmandu the next morning.
Preliminary reports indicate the aircraft sustained damage during the excursion, although the full extent remains under technical evaluation. Authorities have not yet released a definitive cause for the incident, and investigations will likely examine landing procedures, runway conditions, and aircraft performance as part of the routine safety review.
