An Ethiopian Airlines chartered aircraft for UN Mission for Nepalese Troops scheduled to fly to Juba, South Sudan landed at TIA 8:30 PM yesterday. However, the aircraft couldn’t make a returning flight that was scheduled for 11:00 PM same day back to Juba as the Boeing 767 aircraft was observed with a technical glitch.
The aircraft was supposed to fly a 100 strength troops of Nepali Army and 51 strength troop of Nepal Police to Juba Airport in South Sudan for UN mission. After midnight only when the passengers were boarded and the aircraft was preparing to fly, the pilots observed problems with its wing flap operation. The aircraft was then grounded for technical inspection and rectification. The passengers were then disembarked and returned to their homes for rejoining flight until next notice.
The aircraft now stays parked at bay no 4 of Tribhuvan International Airport. A technical team from India will arrive Kathmandu today for the technical inspection and the aircraft will be released after the proper maintenance as soon as possible the sources reported.
Another team from Cambodia was in a transit flight to Nepal in the same aircraft. All the passengers were transferred to Soaltee Hotel, Kathmandu after the aircraft was grounded. Another aircraft for UN Mission to Congo is also scheduled to land Nepal today. However, the Mission flight to South Sudan will be on hold until the aircraft gets released again.
