LAHORE: An aircraft of a private airline escaped a crash at the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Tuesday. At least 10 passengers got minor injuries in the accident that delayed some flights.
An aircraft of Shaheen Airlines coming from Karachi skidded off the runway when one of its tyres burst because of a faulty landing gear, said a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official while quoting initial reports.
“The landing gear, windows and right wing of the aircraft were damaged as it veered off the runway and landed on the grass during the emergency landing,” said the official while adding that an investigation had been initiated into the incident.
“Soon after landing at secondary runway of Lahore airport at 9.27am, the B-737 aircraft dragged on to the runway just 1,000 feet short of its end into ‘kachcha’ area. The aircraft stopped about 70 feet west of the runway centre line. While noticing the abnormal movement of aircraft on the runway after landing, the control tower reported the incident to the CAA fire station which rushed to the site,” said the official.
Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali was among the 121 passengers, including two infants and seven crew members, onboard the flight NL-142.
All passengers were evacuated through an emergency gate of the aircraft which was badly damaged in the accident.
The accident delayed domestic flights — NL-143, PK-303 and PK-652 — but the main runway remained active for wide body aircraft handling.
The pilot of the aircraft had alerted airport authorities before making the emergency landing, said the official.
Meanwhile, passengers told newsmen that they were kept in the dark about the fault in the plane.
“Right from taking off, there was something wrong either with the pilot or the plane. We first thought it was bad weather or some air pocket which were hindering smooth flight. We realised the gravity of the situation when the plane started taking swings in the air,” said a passenger.
Meanwhile, TV channels quoted Civil Aviation Authority as saying that the plane had been damaged badly and could not be used in future.
Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2015
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