Karachi: A huge disaster was avoided on Sunday when PIA aircraft en route to UK caught fire but was landed back with all of the 183 passengers unhurt.
Sources said that the plane carrying 183 passengers, including staff of the airline, took off for London at 11:48 local time but only after three minutes, its left engine, no. 1, caught fire due to a short circuit.
The pilot, after detecting the problem through the special devices installed in his cockpit, turned the engine off following standard operating procedure (SOP) and landed the aircraft safely with the other engine using his professional capability.
The plane was landed back safe after a time span of 17 minutes. According to eye witnesses, two blasts were heard in the engine of the plane just before fire engulfed it.
Media sources said the director Civil Aviation Authority has endorsed the views described above while on the other hand, Director Airport Services, Asif Bashir said the plane didn’t catch fire at all and that the pilot told the control tower that a problem in the engine has been detected.
Following the incident, emergency was declared on the airport and rescue teams, ambulances and fire tenders were put on high alert. Other flight operations, also, were completely suspended until the landing back of the plane.
The incident has once again raised questioned marks on the condition and performance of PIA airplanes. Experts say that a plane is entirely checked before taking off which apparently didn’t happen in the case understudy.
Geo News adds: A private news channel adds that the engine of the PIA aircraft caught fire because of a small bird that hit the engine. This caused a short circuit and eventually led to occurrence of the incident.
The plane, en route to London was then landed back on one engine by the pilot in a very professional way following the SOP and remaining in contact with the control tower.
The aircraft has been parked into the hanger and condition of all the passengers has been declared safe. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is investigating the incident further.
http://www.thenewstribe.com
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