Peshawar-bound PIA flight makes emergency landing in Karachi

All aboard the aircraft are safe, says PIA spokesperson

KARACHI:

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Wednesday due to technical problem.

According to Express, Peshawar-bound flight PK 218 from Abu Dhabi was diverted to Karachi after the aircraft’s hydraulic system malfunctioned.

The aircraft’s pilot contacted the air traffic control (ATC) tower in Karachi and apprised them of the situation, after which the aircraft was safely landed.

Confirming the incident, the PIA spokesperson said that all aboard the aircraft were completely safe, whereas all possible facilities were being provided to them at the airport.

In June, speaking of the May 22 PIA plane crash in Karachi that claimed 97 lives, Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar had said that “human error” - of the aircraft's pilots and ATC officials - was to blame for the disaster, and that there was no technical fault in the aircraft.

Announcing the findings of the report in the National Assembly, the minister said the pilots were distracted because they were discussing the coronavirus pandemic throughout the flight, particularly half an hour before the crash.

“They were not focused and overconfident. Their families were affected by corona. Their lack of concentration caused the crash,” he added.

Last year in May, PIA’s training plane, Sesna 172 had to perform an emergency landing near Katti Bandar.

Both the teacher and students were able to escape unharmed.