Authorities have arrested the pilot in command of a Shaheen Air International plane that skidded off the runway earlier this month after medical reports confirmed that he was intoxicated while flying the passenger aircraft.
Sources said that Punjab police arrested Captain Asmat Mehmood, who had flown the NL-142 Karachi to Lahore flight with an unacceptable level of blood alcohol, from his residence in Karachi on Saturday night.
The Punjab police registered a case against the pilot at the Sarwar Road police station in Lahore on the request of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The Boeing 737 carrying more than 121 passengers crash landed on November 3 when one of its tyres burst causing it to skid off the airstrip and stop about 1,000 feet short from the end into a grassy patch 70 feet west of the runway at the Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP) in Lahore.
Nobody was hurt in the accident, but the plane suffered serious damage in what could have resulted in a major disaster.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson Pervez George, said that “the medical investigation reports of cockpit crew just after the incident revealed that the pilot in command had an unacceptable level of blood alcohol”. The tests also showed the pilot was fatigued, George added.
CAA head Amjad Ali Toor said he had told local airlines “to strictly ensure that their pilots maintain highest levels of aviation standards and refrain from flying under the influence of alcohol”.
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, while referring to a news item regarding the unacceptable level of blood alcohol and lactate in Captain Asmat Mehmood’s blood level, said that as per the Pakistan Civil Aviation Rules (CAR) approved by The Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, no alcohol level is acceptable in the blood of any pilot, cockpit crew, cabin crew and passengers.
However, Federal Aviation Authority USA permits the blood alcohol level up to 40mg per decilitre.
The alcohol level in Mehmood’s blood sample was 83 mg per decilitre, which is more than the double the permissible amount that is approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), USA.