September 12, 2006	Tuesday	Sha'aban 18, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: A London-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight avoided a disaster on Monday when the pilot detected a fault and refused to take off from Islamabad airport, an interior ministry official said.

“As a result of an electrical fault in the plane’s wing, the flight which was carrying about 450 passengers, including Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, delayed by nine hours as it took off at 7:30 pm against its scheduled take-off at 10:30 am,” the interior ministry’s public relation officer said. The plane’s finals destination was United States via London Heathrow.

The official said that PIA’s chief engineer had cleared the aircraft for flight despite the fault in its navigation strobe lights.

He said that shortly before take-off, the pilot changed his mind because the blinking strobe light in one of the wings was not working. “The pilot refused to fly the aircraft until its navigation light system was repaired,” he added.

The official said that the chief engineer had termed the fault a ‘minor one’ and insisted that there was no danger to the aircraft in flight.

However, the pilot remained adamant that he would not fly the plane with a defective indication system.

The ministry’s spokesman said the argument between the pilot and chief engineer lasted about four hours and during that time passengers remained on board.

At about 2:30 pm the passengers were off-loaded and they spent the rest of the time in the general lounge.

He said the aircraft’s out-of-order part was not available in Islamabad and the PIA management had sent it from Karachi.

Passengers, who remained stranded at the airport for nine hours, became unruly at one point but they were pacified by the interior minister.

The minister was heading a delegation that left for the US to attend a meeting of the joint working group of the two countries on immigration development.

PIA’s public relations manager Mohammad Latif said a fault had developed in the plane as it was taxiing on the runway.

He denied the claim of the interior ministry’s spokesman that the chief engineer had cleared the aircraft for take-off.

“When the fault had developed, the chief engineer had recommended that the flight should not proceed unless the fault was removed,” the PIA official said.

Mr Latif said that an engine part had developed a fault and was sent aboard a PIA flight from Karachi at about 4 pm.

The official said no inquiry had been initiated.