Passengers of the PIA Airbus A-310 talking to the media after the aircraft made an emergency landing. PHOTO: EXPRESS/MOHAMMAD NOMAN
The plane carrying 54 passengers and eight crew members departed for Dubai at 10:10pm but just 15 minutes later the pilot informed the control tower about an engine fire and requested permission for emergency landing.
“The pilot of the airplane, Captain Jarar, did a fine job in putting into action all the years of his training,” said Captain Junaid Yunus, the national air carrier’s managing director. “This is exactly what we train on simulators every six months. Landing on one engine is part of the drill.”
The incident was widely reported on national news channels and footage of a burning object in the backdrop of a black sky sent panic waves among people. Sound of a huge blast added to the anxiety.
“We all heard the blast and rushed to the rooftop. We could see the plane in flames until it disappeared,” said Naseem Ahmed, a retired air force official, who lives near Shahrah-e-Faisal.
The fire, which erupted in the right engine of the A-310, had been subdued even before landing. Every plane has an inbuilt fire-fighting mechanism to deal with such situations.
Junaid Yunus said the huge sound was caused by a sudden vacuum, which was created as the engine stopped working and not because it burst.
“These are high-powered engines. When the engine stalls and air stops passing through, there is a gap in air mass and that is what causes a loud noise.”
Another PIA official said that none of the passengers or crew members was injured. The airline was making arrangements for the passengers on a 1:00am flight to Dubai till filing of this report.
PIA has been struggling to get its A-310s out of operations as it faces difficulty in financing repairs.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2013.
COMMENTS (16)
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@Hairaan: and all curse to the corrupt who have looted and destroyed this country and its institutes with their greed and criminal minds and deeds
excellent job captain jarar
During the last five years of Corruption Party rule corrupt, incompetent and redundant appointments were made in tons including the ones like "graduates" of tando adam agriculture university appointed in the engineering department, so what else we could expect from this !! Corruption party and its mafia labour union is still trying to avoid privatization of this airline to continue their loot
Its no big deal, jets are desinged to fly on one engine
@Acorn Guts: wonder why then we never heard of such news for emirates, qatar airways and etihad or even for cathay pacific???
Poor maintenance and vintage air crafts is putting lives of the passengers at risk. Its time to sell the airline to someone who can do a better job.
Only in Pakistan do people run to the rooftop when they hear a loud explosion coming from the sky
Bravo. Captain jarar...done a fine job....
Thanks to the heroic efforts of Captain Jarar. So many lives saved. We all remembered when engine fire caused a plane crash in Karachi on Nov, 28, 2010, killing several people. This captain maintained his cool and calm and his heroic efforts lead to saving so many lives in the plane and maybe on the ground. Thanks man.
Third world death trap for third world people
Long Live Captain Jarar
I think PIA wants to boost the confidence of people in it.
But a plane can be flown without any hitch even if 3 out of the 4 engines fail.
It's no big deal.
Alhamdulillah. All praises to the almighty.
congratulations to the pilot. Great team effort shown by Pakistani pilots and crew. Lets show the world what we are made of!
Pakistan Zindabad!
Engine surge/bird ingestion happen all the time in aviation. Get over it.