Pilot in plane crash

A Saurya Airlines plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 18 of the 19 people on board. The sole survivor, Captain Manish Ratna Shakya, managed to escape when the cockpit was sheared off by a freight container moments before the rest of the aircraft went up in flames. Eyewitness reports describe the plane nosediving and erupting into a fireball as it skidded along the runway. Captain Shakya is recovering in the hospital and, despite suffering injuries to his head and face, has communicated that he is 'all good'. Nepal's civil aviation minister has confirmed that a five-member investigation team has been appointed to look into the crash, which highlights the country's ongoing issues with aviation safety. The flight was transporting a technical team to perform maintenance on another aircraft in Pokhara at the time of the accident.