Surkhet Airport

Surkhet Airport
IATA: SKH – ICAO: VNSK Surkhet Airport Location of airport in Nepal
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Government
Serves	Birendranagar, Nepal
Hub for	Goma Air
Elevation AMSL	236 ft / 72 m
Coordinates	28°35′09″N 081°38′09″E / 28.58583°N 81.63583°E
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 1,200 3,937 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Surkhet Airport is an airport in Surkhet, Nepal (IATA: SKH, ICAO: VNSK). This airport is one of the hub airports in Mid-Western Nepal. Surkhet Airport is 5 km from the city of Birendranagar and is sometimes referred to as Birendranagar Airport. The airport is capable to handle aircraft from the Nepalese Army Air Service.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Goma Air	Nepalgunj, Jumla, Simikot, Dolpa, Talcha, Bajura, Bajhang, Chaurjahari [3]

Incidents and accidents

• 17 July 2002 - A Skyline Airways De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 (9N-AGF) left Jumla on a flight to Surkhet. Some 18 minutes after take-off and 10 km north of Surkhet, at an altitude of about 6500 feet, the aircraft crashed into trees on the Gargare Danda hill in bad weather. All two crew and two passengers were killed.^[4][5]
• On 26 May 2010 a Tara Air DHC-6 Twin Otter had taken off from Surkhet Airport heading for Talcha Airport in Rara National Park, with 18 passengers and 3 crew on board. At 10 am, the aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Surkhet after its cabin door suddenly opened five minutes after take-off. Tara Airlines officials said that the cabin attendant managed to lock the door immediately after it opened.^[6]

References

1. Airport information for VNSK at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
2. Airport information for SKH at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
3. http://www.gomaair.com/index.php?cmd=viewarticle&articleid=41
4. Aviation Safety Network retrieved 18 November 2006
5. Spotlight 8 August 2002

See also

List of airports in Nepal