A Griffon Air-owned American Gulfstream G-5 charter plane has been grounded at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport for nine days because of damage sustained to its nose by a Nepal Airlines tow tractor during airport ground operations. The aircraft that transported three Nepalis deported from the United States was supposed to depart the following day, but remained stranded because of the accident.
The grounding incident resulted in business losses exceeding 10 million rupees because it led to canceled charters and prolonged crew stay requirements. The plane repairs continue while an engineer from Singapore checks the maintenance work. The Civil Aviation Authority continues to investigate the incident and has suspended the tow-tractor operator. The U.S. Embassy strongly urged a rapid conclusion to this matter.