Sita Air Plane Loses Rear Wheel During Landing at Juphal Airport; All 16 on Board Safe

A Sita Air aircraft carrying 16 people lost its rear right wheel while landing at Juphal Airport in Nepal’s western Dolpa district on Thursday morning, forcing the closure of the remote mountain airstrip, officials said.

The Dornier 228 aircraft, with call sign 9N-AJH, was operating a flight from Nepalgunj when the wheel came off at around 8:25 a.m. local time, according to police.

“All passengers are safe and no injuries have been reported,” Anil Raj Giri, chief of the Dolpa district police, told Xinhua. Giri confirmed that seven of the 13 passengers on board were foreign nationals. The aircraft also carried three crew members.

The pilot switched off the engine immediately after the incident, preventing any untoward event.

The aircraft suffered no major structural damage apart from the lost wheel, but it remained stranded on the runway, forcing authorities to suspend all flight operations at Juphal Airport.

An approaching Nepali Army aircraft was forced to turn back due to the blocked runway.

Authorities are arranging to fly technicians to the site by helicopter to repair the aircraft and clear the runway, officials said.