A Karachi-bound flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) twice made emergency landings just minutes after taking off from Islamabad International Airport on Sunday.
According to details, PIA flight PK-301 with 160 passengers on board took off at 12.30 pm. The aircraft’s inertial navigation system developed a technical fault half an hour into the journey, forcing the pilots to maneuver the aircraft to a safe landing back at Islamabad airport.
The national flag carrier’s engineers gave the flight a go-ahead after rectifying the fault. The plane tried to take off for the second time around 4 pm but the pilots were forced to return as the same fault was developed once again.
Before the pilots could attempt a third take-off, the scared passengers protested as 143 of them refused to travel. The fault was sorted out again and the plane finally departed for Karachi at 5.30 pm with just 17 passengers onboard. The remaining 143 passengers were accommodated in PIA flight PK-309 that took off at 7 pm.
Speaking in this regard, PIA’s spokesman, Abdullah Hafeez Khan, apologized to the passengers for the inconvenience and said the flight PK-301 landed twice at Islamabad airport due to safety concerns.
He added that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIA, Arshad Malik, has formed a high-level investigation board to probe the incident and directed concerned officials to take action against those found responsible.
Via: Dawn
