Two survive as plane carrying 99 people crashes in Karachi
Dozens killed after Pakistan International Airlines jet ploughed into suburbs near airport
A LEADING Pakistani banker is one of at least two passengers who survived a plane crash when a flight ploughed into a residential neighbourhood of Karachi.
The internal flight carrying nearly 100 people went down as it came in to land at Jinnah International Airport after the pilot reported technical problems.
Zafar Masud, president of the Bank of Punjab, was pulled free by rescuers and was last night recovering in hospital. Another passenger, Mohammad Zubair, was being treated for minor burns and said the plane had started jolting before crash landing.
“The next moment there was a hard crash and I lost consciousness,” he told Geo News. When he woke up there was “smoke everywhere”, he added.
Officials said that 41 bodies had been recovered but others may have escaped from the plane. TV news reports said the plane hit the ground tail-first. A passenger list showed Mr Masud was seated in the front row and Mr Zubair in the eighth row.
The pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines flight was heard issuing a mayday call and warning he had lost power from both engines seconds before the Airbus A320 crashed.
The flight from Lahore to Pakistan’s largest city was carrying 91 passengers and eight crew when it ploughed into houses in the Model Colony district.
One official told The Daily Telegraph it appeared the landing gear on the twin engine jet had failed, but too early to know for certain.
A recording of the pilot’s final exchange with air traffic control, posted on the website Liveatc.net, indicated he had failed to land and was circling around to make another attempt.
“We are proceeding direct, sir, we have lost engine,” a pilot said.
“Confirm your attempt on belly,” the air traffic controller said, offering a runway.
“Sir − mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday Pakistan 8303,” the pilot said before the transmission ended.
Air Marshal Arshad Malik, chief executive of the national carrier, confirmed that the pilot had said there was a technical fault with the aircraft.
“The pilot was told that both runways were ready for him to land. However, the pilot decided to do a go-around. Why did he do that, due to what technical reason? That we will find out,” he said.
Up to 20 houses were damaged on the ground and video footage showed wreckage strewn across streets and plumes of smoke rising from fires.
Pakistan had only days earlier resumed domestic flights after planes were grounded for two months as part of the coronavirus lockdown. Many passengers would have been flying home for the Eid festivities at the end of Ramadan.
Air inspection documents showed the plane last received a government check on Nov 1 last year.
PIA’S chief engineer signed a separate certificate on April 28 saying all maintenance had been carried out.
It stated “the aircraft is fully airworthy and meets all the safety standards”. The plane entered service with China Eastern Airlines in 2004 and then joined PIA’S fleet in 2014.
PIA suffered another crash four years ago, when 47 people died after an aircraft smashed into a mountain in Khyber-pakhtunkhwa province. The country’s worst plane disaster was in 2010, when an Airblue flight crashed near Islamabad, killing 152 people.
The airline’s fortunes have declined in recent decades and its reputation has been tarnished by delays, cancellations and financial difficulties.
The carrier, founded in 1946, had as many as 51 safety-related incidents before yesterday’s crash, according to data from Aviation Safety Network.
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, said he was shocked and saddened by the crash and that an investigation was under way.