Turkish Airlines Plane Evacuated in Kathmandu After Tyre Fire

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 was evacuated in Kathmandu, Nepal, after a fire broke out in one of its rear tyres during taxiing. All 288 people on board, consisting of 277 passengers and 11 crew members, were safely evacuated from the aircraft with no injuries reported.

The incident began when smoke was observed emanating from the aircraft's landing gear as it moved along the taxiway. It was determined that a fire had broken out specifically in the right rear tyre. Emergency response teams acted quickly to extinguish the fire before the aircraft was towed to a safe location for further inspection.

Yahya Ustun, the senior vice president for communications at Turkish Airlines, commented on the situation, stating that preliminary findings indicate the smoke was likely caused by a malfunction in a hydraulic pipe.

Following the successful evacuation of all passengers and crew, authorities, including Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, launched a detailed investigation into the incident. The probe will focus on the technical cause of the hydraulic failure and the subsequent fire to ensure aviation safety standards are maintained.