Three wild boars caused an aircraft incident on a runway of Nepalgunj Airport (KEP) in Nepal.
A Sita Air Dornier Do-228 aircraft suffered nose gear and underside fuselage damage after a collision with three wild pigs while accelerating for takeoff.
32 years old Sita Air Dornier Do-228 aircraft received structural damages,when it hit 3 wild boars on the runway while taking off from Nepalgunj Airport (KEP),Nepal.
The aircraft(9N-AHB) with 17 occupants was flying to Simkot,Humla on 02nd Nov.
Koshi online#Aircraft #safety pic.twitter.com/LjxJ1uXrNl
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 2, 2021
The incident occurred on November 2, 2021, when the twin-engine turboprop, registered as 9N-AHB, was about to take off from Nepalgunj Airport (KEP) for a flight to Simikot Airport (IMK). The plane was already accelerating when three wild boars unexpectedly appeared on the runway. The flight crew rejected the takeoff, but was unable to avoid collision.
Due to the encounter, the plane suffered nose gear and belly damage and came to a complete stop with the nose gear bent backwards. No injuries were reported by the flight’s 17 passengers. However, all three boars died from the impact.
Domestic airport in #Nepalgunj reportedly closed after a Sita Air plane hit a wild boar on the runway! #Nepal pic.twitter.com/XTrOXYTEHw
— Ujjwal Acharya (@UjjwalAcharya) November 2, 2021
According to aviation-safety.net data, it was the second incident to involve the 9N-AHB aircraft.
The plane previously suffered similar nose gear damage during a landing incident at IMK airport in June 2013. At the time, the Sita Air Dornier Do-228 was supposed to operate the same Nepalganj-Simikot route with five passengers and two flight crew members on board.
Seems Nepali pilots need crash course on landing without crashing! Sita Air at Simikot, Humla today (Pic: DB Buda) pic.twitter.com/gRkhSmQsc0
— Ujjwal Acharya (@UjjwalAcharya) June 1, 2013
Following a hard landing at its final destination, the plane suffered substantial damage to its left-hand wing and belly as well as breaking its mane gear.