Engine trouble: PIA flight with CJP on board faces glitch

Several news channels reported the plane’s engine caught fire, a claim debunked by CAA, PIA

KARACHI: The Chief Justice of Pakistan and some political bigwigs were in for a fright when their Islamabad-bound flight had to be stopped before takeoff due to a ‘technical fault’.

Around 4pm on Sunday, the pilot of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) flight PK-308, scheduled to take off from Karachi’s Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, informed the airport administration of a technical fault in the aircraft’s engine while taxiing towards the runway, requesting them to send firefighters and engineers.

Apart from Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Federal Minister Maula Baksh Chandio, parliamentarians Yousaf Talpur and Shirin Arshad, and Production Secretary Gul Muhammad Rind were among the 421 passengers onboard the Boeing 747-300 aircraft.

Immediately following the incident, several news channels reported the aircraft’s engine caught fire. They quoted passengers onboard the flight as saying they saw smoke billowing out of the engine and felt unwell after being forced to remain onboard the ‘suffocating’ plane.

Reports of the fire, however, were vehemently denied both by PIA administration and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

“There was no fire on PIA flight PK-308 … the flight was delayed for an hour due to technical reasons,” said CAA spokesperson Pervez George. He explained the aircraft’s engine failed to start due to a minor fault, adding that it was brought back to the parking bay for a check-up.

“The same aircraft with the same engines departed for Islamabad after the snag was rectified… Had there been a fire in the engine, it would have been replaced with a new one; a procedure that would have required several hours or even a day,” the spokesperson explained.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Quaid-e-Azam International Airport Manager Nasir Sheikh said the pilot immediately informed the administration when the aircraft’s engine experienced problem.



“Some news channels highlighted the issue unnecessarily and tried to make an issue out of it,” he said, adding “there was no fire or smoke… The firefighting vehicles were dispatched as a precautionary measure.”

PIA spokesperson Sultan Hassan denied the reports of fire as well, labelling news channels’ coverage completely baseless. He said CAA Safety Investigation Board President Air Commodore Basit was present at the airport at the time and personally confirmed there was no fire onboard.

“Repeatedly telecasting such items without verification and blowing them out of proportion seriously damages the national flag carrier,” added Hassan.

The PIA spokesperson further stated that PK-308 took off for Islamabad at 7:55pm with 402 passengers. He said, apart from four passengers who cancelled their tickets, the remaining 15, which included CJ Chaudhry, departed for Islamabad on flight PK-370 which left Karachi earlier.

PIA Managing Director Muhammad Yunus reiterated that no flight is dispatched unless the airline is 100% sure it is safe.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2012.