Eighteen people have died in an aircraft crash in Nepal after Saurya Airlines CRJ-200 9N-AME caught fire while skidding off the runway.
The pilot survived the crash, which was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance.
Saurya Airlines has no active commercial flights and a fleet of three CRJ-200s, tow of which are leased out of Miami. 9N-AME is leased from Strategic Air Finance.
Saurya Airlines is a Nepali airline based in Kathmandu, operating five destinations across three provinces of Nepal from its hub at Tribhuvan International Airport
The airline operates a fleet of CRJ 200 aircraft and was the first in Nepal to operate the Canadair Regional Jet on domestic routes
In 2016, Saurya Airlines operated charter flights due to failing to meet minimum aircraft requirements to operate as a scheduled passenger carrier.
In 2017, the airline added a second CRJ 200 aircraft to its fleet and regained the certificate to operate scheduled flights after clearing dues and restarting operations.
The deadliest crash in 2024, a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 with 74 people on board, occurred on 24 January.
The deadliest commercial aircraft crash in 2024 involved a BAe Jetstream 32 operating Northwestern Air Flight 738, crashing after takeoff on 23 January and killing six out of seven on board.
Nepal has a poor air safety record, with the deadliest incident occurring in 1992 and a recent crash in January 2023 attributed to pilot error.
