RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-211 from Islamabad to Dubai made a ‘technical landing’ at Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday after a crack appeared in the cockpit glass.

According to a Civil Aviation spokesman, Pervez George, the airbus had taken off from Islamabad for Dubai with 139 passengers on board and was flying at 38,000 feet when the pilot noticed the crack and had to divert back to the nearest airport at 3:15pm.

Despite the crack, cabin pressure remained steady and the pilot was able to land safely.

PIA spokesman, Danyal Gilani, said it was a ‘technical landing’ and not an emergency one. He said the airbus had been grounded for repair work and that the passengers had been boarded on another plane.

He said: “The window will be inspected to find out why it cracked.”

Meanwhile, Pervez George speculated that sometimes “cracks appear because of the temperature and at others, because the plane is old”.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2015