On July 24, 2024, another tragic incident occurred in Nepal when a private plane with a “broken” engine, en route to Pokhara for repairs, crashed while taking off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, resulting in a raging inferno. The accident claimed the lives of 18 out of the 19 people on board. The lone survivor was Captain Manish Ratna Shakya, the pilot of the Saurya Airlines aircraft.
How did the pilot survive the plane crash in Kathmandu?
The aircraft, carrying 17 Saurya Airlines technicians and two crew members—pilot and co-pilot—took off from Tribhuvan International Airport around 11:15 am. However, it soon “turned right and crashed on the east side of the runway,” according to the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination center.
Rescuers acted swiftly and saved Captain Shakya just as the flames were approaching the cockpit. He survived miraculously, while the other 18 on board were killed.
A BBC report quoted Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Dambar Bishwakarma, who said that Captain Shakya was facing difficulty breathing as the air shield was open. “We broke the window and immediately pulled him out,” Bishwakarma added.
The pilot was rushed to Kathmandu Medical College, where doctors reported he had sustained eye injuries along with other injuries to his head and face.
According to his LinkedIn profile, 37-year-old Shakya serves as the Chief of Operations at Saurya Airlines. He joined the airline in December 2014 and has been with the company for over nine and a half years. Prior to this role, he worked for Simrik Airlines for approximately three years.
Sole survivors in plane crashes
In plane crashes, having a sole survivor is uncommon but not impossible. Experts suggest that factors such as luck and presence of mind, rather than age, are more likely to influence a person’s chances of survival.
Here’s a look at some notable cases of sole survivors in plane crashes around the world:
1 – Ruben van Assouw
Ruben van Assouw was nine years old when he became the sole survivor of the Afriqiyah Airways Flight crash on May 12, 2010, at Libya’s Tripoli airport. His father, mother, and brother were among the 103 casualties. The aircraft exploded and completely disintegrated after arriving at Tripoli from Johannesburg, South Africa. Ruben, from the Netherlands, was pulled unconscious from the wreckage. He had broken legs and required surgery. He also experienced temporary immobility and concerns arose about potential brain injury. However, Ruben recovered well and now lives with his aunt and uncle in the Netherlands.
2 – Bahia Bakari
On June 30, 2009, 153 people perished when a Yemenia Airways flight from Yemen to the Comoros Islands (in southern Africa) nosedived into the Indian Ocean. The only survivor was 12-year-old Bahia Bakari, who clung to wreckage for about 13 hours before being rescued and flown to a French hospital for treatment of cuts, burns, bruises, and a broken collarbone. Her mother died in the crash. Upon rescue, Bahia was reunited with her father. In shock, she believed she had fallen from the plane after pressing her forehead too hard against its window. Dubbed the “miracle girl,” Bahia released her book “I’m Bahia, the Miracle Girl” in 2010.
3 – Mohammed el-Fateh Osman
Three-year-old Mohammed el-Fateh Osman was the sole survivor of the Sudan Airways flight SD39 crash on July 8, 2003. The Boeing 737, with 115 on board, took off from Port Sudan on the Red Sea and headed to Khartoum, but shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported engine problems. The boy was flown to London for treatment of burns and the loss of part of his leg.
4 – Youcef Djillali
On March 6, 2003, an Air Algeria flight crashed on takeoff in the southern city of Tamanrasset. The sole survivor was 28-year-old soldier Youcef Djillali.
5 – Sergei Petrov
On December 15, 1997, a Tajik Airlines Tupolev crashed into a river near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), killing all 77 passengers except for crew member Sergei Petrov, who was the lone survivor.
6 – Cecelia Cichan
On August 16, 1987, four-year-old Cecelia Cichan was the only survivor when Northwest Airlines flight 255 from Romulus, Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona crashed shortly after takeoff. The crash killed 156 people, including two on the ground, and among the victims were Cecelia’s parents and brother. Buried within the wreckage, Cecelia had a fractured skull, broken leg and collarbone, and severe burns. A firefighter heard her faint cry and rescued her.
7 – Vesna Vulovic
On January 26, 1972, a suspected terrorist bomb on JAT Yugoslav Airlines Flight 357 from Stockholm, Sweden to Belgrade, Yugoslavia detonated over Czechoslovakia, blowing the plane apart and killing 27 people. Flight attendant Vesna Vulovic, then 22, was the sole survivor. Trapped by a food cart in the tail of the aircraft, she was left in a coma with a fractured skull and pelvis, broken vertebrae, legs, and ribs. She experienced paralysis from the waist down but eventually made a full recovery. Vesna holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute (about 33,333 feet). According to the BBC, she still flies despite this record.
8 – Juliane Koepcke
On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke, 17, was aboard LANSA Flight 508 from Lima to Coronel when lightning struck the aircraft, causing it to crash into the Amazon Rainforest 25 minutes after takeoff. Experiencing extreme turbulence, the plane flew into a thunderstorm, and a lightning bolt struck its right wing, leading to a nosedive. Strapped to her seat, Juliane fell two miles into the rainforest. Her mother’s last words were, “that is the end, it’s all over.” After regaining consciousness, Juliane trekked through the rainforest for 11 days before finding civilization. She had a broken collarbone and ruptured knee ligaments. In 2000, filmmaker Werner Herzog released “Wings of Hope,” a documentary about Juliane’s story, inspired by his own near miss with her doomed flight.
Additionally, an incident from a Uruguayan plane crash on October 13, 1972, deserves mention. The aircraft, carrying 45 passengers, crashed in the Andes mountain range. Over a quarter of those on board died, and rescuers abandoned the search after ten days, assuming no one could have survived. However, survivors, stranded without food, resorted to cannibalism, consuming the flesh of the deceased. Eight more died when an avalanche hit their shelter. Two Chilean passengers eventually trekked for ten days to find help, leading to the rescue of 14 survivors 72 days after the crash.
