Lahore: A disaster was narrowly averted when a packed passenger plane of Pakistan's private airlines caught fire and made an emergency landing at Lahore airport on Monday, an official said. According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan, Fly Jinnah's flight FL-846 left for Lahore from Karachi on Monday with 171 passengers including crew aboard.
“The captain issued a 'Mayday' call near Lahore at 7:15 pm reporting after smoke emitting in the cargo compartment,” CAA spokesperson Saifullah Khan told PTI. He said as per SOPs, the airport authority's fire department was present at the scene to deal with any situation during the emergency landing.
“The plane landed safely at the Lahore airport at 7:23 pm,” he said and added all passengers and crew were safely evacuated using the aircraft's emergency evacuation system. He said the senior officials have ordered an investigation into the incident.
According to the CAA, a technical team inspected the plane regarding the smoke. Fire brigades and ambulances had also been called before the plane's landing. After the emergency landing, all the doors of the plane were opened, and passengers were evacuated using slides.
The smoke was seen emitting from the cargo side of the plane before the emergency landing. Passengers were not allowed to take any luggage from inside the plane. The crew reportedly appeared under pressure as they were checking the air pressure.
"Foreign pilot" saves 171 lives
A source told PTI that the pilot was a foreigner and he executed the emergency landing with professional expertise. Interestingly, Pakistan’s national airline grounded 150 of its pilots after the government said nearly a third of the country’s pilots obtained their flying licenses fraudulently.
During the tenure of the then-PM Imran Khan, aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said that 262 Pakistani pilots had faked exams to get their pilot licenses by getting others to sit for their exams and through other abuses of the licensing process. The accused pilots worked for Pakistan International Airways, private domestic Pakistani carriers and some for foreign airlines, he said, announcing the results of an investigation, reported the WSJ.
The revelation came in the wake of the tragic crash of a PIA flight, PK-8303, in Karachi on May 22, 2020, resulting in the suspension of PIA’s operations in the European Union (EU)
Saudi Airlines fire
Earlier in July, a Saudi Airlines flight from Riyadh caught fire upon landing at Pakistan's Peshawar Airport. According to the statement released by the airline, its aircraft, flying from Riyadh to Peshawar on flight SV792, experienced smoke emanating from one of the tyres during landing at Peshawar International Airport in Pakistan.
According to CAA spokesperson Saifullah, air traffic controllers observed smoke and sparks coming from the left-hand side landing gear of the aircraft during landing and promptly alerted the pilots. Concurrently, they notified the airport fire and rescue services. Upon arrival, CAA fire vehicles successfully extinguished the flames that had engulfed the landing gear, as stated in the announcement.
(With inputs from agency)
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