The scars of PK-8303 still linger

It has been five years since Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-8303 crashed near Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, claiming 97 lives and leaving behind harrowing stories of survival and loss.

On May 22, 2020, amid eased Covid-19 restrictions, flight PK-8303 took off from Lahore for Karachi with 91 passengers and 8 crew members aboard, many heading home to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. However, the aircraft never made it safely to its destination.

According to official findings, the aircraft attempted to land at Jinnah Terminal but its landing gear failed to deploy. Both engines repeatedly scraped the runway during the first landing attempt, causing sparks to fly. Instead of executing a belly landing, the pilot opted for a go-around, a decision that ultimately proved fatal.

In the final moments, the captain issued a Mayday call. Cockpit recordings and flight data revealed that the crew violated standard descent protocols near Nawabshah and Makli, maintaining higher than advised altitude and speed during approach.

The Airbus A320, weighing 80 tons, broke apart and crashed onto the densely populated Jinnah Garden residential area. The thunderous noise of collapsing metal, plummeting parts and erupting fuel painted a scene of apocalypse.

One of the few survivors on the ground, Sohail Asghar, recounted the traumatic moments to The Express Tribune.

On that fateful Friday afternoon, shortly after offering Jumuah prayers, he had just sat in his car parked outside his home to run errands for iftar.

The engine had barely started and the door remained open when he heard an ominous roar, a grinding, growling sound unlike anything he had ever heard. Panicked and unable to comprehend what was happening, Asghar threw himself onto a small patch of garden next to his house.

Seconds later, flaming metal shards, heavy aircraft parts, and boiling jet fuel began raining from the sky. "Everything was burning. The alley was shrouded in thick, black smoke. My screams were probably drowned out in the chaos," he said.

Unseen to him, two young neighbours had noticed Asghar moments before he stepped out. Hearing the crash, they rushed through the smoke and dragged him inside their home.

Rescue officials were eventually alerted, and Asghar was moved to the hospital. He remained under treatment for nearly eight months.

Even today, Asghar says, he finds it difficult to revisit that memory. He no longer lives in Jinnah Garden, having relocated after the trauma became unbearable.