Professional expertise and timely decision-making by the pilot of the airplane carrying Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his entourage helped make a safe emergency landing back at the Orly airport after a difficult two-and-a-half-hour flight after the aircraft developed a technical fault soon after takeoff.
The special configuration, Airbus A-310-300 type aircraft, currently being operated by the Pakistan Air Force for VVIP flights, which left Paris on Thursday at 10:30pm, hit air turbulence only 20 minutes after taking off, and its auto-pilot system (APS) also failed to engage.
On enquiry, the crew informed the prime minister that the APS was not functioning properly and this was the reason that the plan was jolting. However, the pilot kept his cool and after hectic efforts, was able to regain the control by shifting the plane from the APS back to the manual system. But it was not over yet for the worried prime minister and his colleagues as the pilot kept flying for another two hours in order to burn the remaining fuel to avoid crash landing.
Finally, the pilot was able to land the plane at Orly airport at 12:30am safely.
The airport was closed for all air traffic from 11pm to 6am while special arrangements were made for the landing of the VVIP aircraft. The delegation returned to the hotel and would be returning home by a regular PIA flight from Paris on Friday.
