US-Bangla flight was scary even on Sunday, says a Nepali passenger

The chief executive of a Kathmandu-based think-tank who frequently flies to Bangladesh says his return flight with US-Bangla Airlines on Sunday was ‘scary’.

Sunil KC shared his experience with bdnews24.com on Monday hours after the Bangladeshi airline’s plane crashed on landing at Kathmandu airport, killing at least 50 people.

The CEO of the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) was supposed to travel back to Nepal on Monday, but he rescheduled and went back on Sunday after a meeting had been cancelled.

“Actually, I travelled many times to Dhaka for business purposes this year, and I always fly with Bangladesh Biman flight as I prefer big aircraft but this time due to ticket scarcity, I had to fly back with US-Bangla airline on Sunday.

Sunil KC remembered: “It was a small aircraft and when it took off from Dhaka airport, I wondered why the government had allowed such a small plane for the international flight?

"I was feeling very scared as it was making a loud sound in the sky and I realised that the engine is not so strong (like Biman’s planes) and when it entered the Nepal skies, and got near Kathmandu the weather was not good,” he said.

“I checked my watch many times and was wondering why it was not landing and why it was taking so much time. There were no (inflight passenger announcements) and then I thought the aircraft is old and it's slow or there were some problems.

"My heart was saying there might be a problem and actually, I was supposed to come today (Monday) after attending my pre-scheduled meeting.”

“It would be the same US-Bangla plane I’d be flying if I did not go back on Sunday. But my heart said not Monday, I must fly Sunday to Kathmandu. Today I realised that I am so lucky. But literally, I was scared on the flight,” a relieved Sunil KC said.