The runway of the Jinnah International Airport Karachi, which was closed for flights following an emergency landing of a malfunctioned Shaheen Air International aircraft, has been reopened for operation after eight hours.
According to reports, Shaheen Air International’s Boeing 737-400, with over 100 passengers onboard, escaped a crash while landing at the Karachi airport.
Sources in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that the landing gear of the Shaheen Air International flight had stopped functioning while landing at one of the Karachi airport’s runways.
They said, “The pilot was asked to use emergency breaks to stop the aircraft amid the malfunction of the gear just after landing at the runway.”
The pilot used emergency breaks and saved the aircraft from crashing, but its tyres burst with a loud bang, they added.
They also said that the aircraft was tilted to the left side and stationed at the runway with the support of its wing.
Following the blast of the tyres, CAA fire tenders reached the runway, but there was no fire in any part of the aircraft, they added.
Then, they went on to say, the rescue operation started and all the passengers were pulled out of the malfunctioned aircraft by using an emergency ladder.
Initially, they continued, women and children were pulled out of the plane, and later, men were rescued by using the emergency ladder. None of the passengers or crew members was hurt during the incident, they added.
In a statement issued by the CAA, the authority’s spokesman Pervez George said that the Shaheen Air International’s flight number was NL-122.
George said, “The tyres of the wheel landing gear exploded while landing. The plane went forward, but then screeched to a halt at the runway.”
He said that Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar has directed the CAA director general (DG) to check the aircraft of all the private airlines.
He also said that all the private airlines have been issued notices and their aircraft have been grounded for fitness checking.
He further said that the fitness checking of all the aircraft would start from Monday (today) and would be completed in two days.
“Only those aircraft would be allowed for operation that meet the criteria of the international aviation law. The pilots would also undergo a similar test,” he added.
CAA DG Nadeem Khan Yousafzai has ordered an immediate inquiry of the landing incident and asked for the report to be submitted at the earliest.
Yousafzai requested the Pakistan International Airlines for support in removing the malfunctioned aircraft from the runway.
He directed the CAA staff to remove the aircraft from the runway as early as possible for restoration of local and international flights.
Due to the emergency landing of the Shaheen Air International aircraft at the Karachi airport, 20 national and international flights were postponed.
The postponed flights included PK-787 (Karachi to London), UL-183 (Colombo to Karachi), UL-184 (Karachi to Colombo), PK-304 (Karachi to Lahore), PK-308 (Karachi to Islamabad), EU-606 (Karachi to Jeddah), PK-730 (Karachi to Riyadh), EK-602 (Karachi to Dubai), PK-732 (Karachi to Jeddah), and D8-356.
However, Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-303 (Lahore to Karachi) was landed at the Nawabshah Airport, whereas the international flight TG-507 (Thailand to Karachi) landed in Muscat, Oman.
