Manchester-bound Shaheen Air flight crash lands at Karachi airport

Aircraft’s tyres burst minutes after it took off from Islamabad; it has safely landed at Jinnah International...

A Manchester-bound flight of a private airline made safe emergency landing Friday evening at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi following the flight’s tyres burst minutes after the takeoff from Islamabad.

According to reports, Shaheen Air’s NL-901 took off from Islamabad’s Benazir International Airport for Manchester but its tyres soon burst, which prompted its pilot to send a message to control tower and turned the plane towards the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.

However, the weather conditions in Lahore did not allow the pilot to land there.



Meanwhile, an emergency was imposed at the Karachi airport while firefighters and rescue services called in to avoid any mishap.

This is the second time in a month that tyres of a Shaheen Air’s passenger plane have burst.

Earlier this month, a Dubai-bound Shaheen Air flight narrowly escaped a crash when its tyres burst just before takeoff at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.

The engine of Shaheen Air flight NL-766 started making loud noises seconds before takeoff which prompted the pilot to apply emergency breaks to keep the plane on the runway, sources told The Express Tribune. However, the breaks caused three of the plane’s tyres to burst. No loss of life was reported.

There were around 160 passengers on-board the flight, however, no one was harmed in the incident, according to sources in the CAA.



Earlier this year, a pilot of Shaheen Air passenger plane refused to fly the aircraft after he found a hole in one of the wings of the plane seconds before departing for Saudi Arabia from Peshawar.

In November last year, a Lahore-bound Shaheen Air flight, carrying 121 passengers and crew members, had made an ‘emergency landing’ at the Lahore airport as the aircraft skidded off the runway. The CAA had accused the pilot of the passenger flight of being drunk and fatigued as he flew the plane.