How pilot survived Nepal plane crash that killed everyone else on board

An expert has explained how a pilot survived a devastating plane crash which killed the other 18 people on board.

Harrowing footage shows the pilot, who was the sole survivor of a small plane crash in Nepal, being rescued out of the cockpit window by a team of people.

The plane attempted to take off from Tribhuvan International Airport, in the capital city of Kathmandu, at approximately 11.11am local time on July 24, but crashed on the runway.

The aircraft had been bound for the city of Pokhara, and was carrying 17 Nepalis and a Yemeni citizen - all of whom lost their lives in the tragic accident.

The pilot was the only survivor of the crash. (PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

The passengers included two crew members and 17 technicians, all of whom were employees of Saurya Airlines, the carrier operating the flight.

Just moments after the wheels of the aircraft left the ground, it heart a freight container and fell back down to the ground, with the cockpit completely separating from the rest of the plane.

Captain Manish Ratna Shakya, the pilot who survived, was rescued just five minutes following the crash.

According to the BBC, Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Dambar Bishwakarma, said: "He was facing difficulty to breathe as the air shield was open.

"We broke the window and immediately pulled him out.

"He had blood all over his face when he was rescued but we took him to the hospital in a condition where he could speak."

The plane looked to be taking off in the wrong direction. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal's civil aviation minister Badri Pandey described the pilot survived, given the fatalities of everyone else on the flight.

He said: "It [the aircraft] hit the container on the edge of the airport.

"Then, it fell further below.

"The cockpit, however, remained stuck inside the container.

"This is how the captain survived."

Pressing on how lucky Captain Shakya was to be alive, he added: "The other part of the plane crashed into a nearby mound and it tore into pieces.

"The entire area away from the region where the cockpit fell down caught fire and everything was burnt."

Fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene, and when the fire was under control, rescuers started to search through the wreckage.

Authorities have reported that all 18 bodies were pulled out.

They are now working to investigate what caused the plane to crash.

It was not raining when the plane went down, though visibility in the capital was generally low at the time.