RAHIM YAR KHAN: A flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was cancelled when its front wheel developed fault here on Wednesday.

PIA ATR flight PK-651 arrived at Sheikh Zayed Airport here from Lahore. When the plane was taxiing on the runway, its front wheel collapsed and the aircraft turned unbalanced. However, all passengers remained safe.

The plane was scheduled to return to Lahore and Islamabad but the flight was cancelled. Many passengers who were going to perform Umrah by connecting flights from Lahore and Islamabad had to face a great deal of inconvenience.

PIA Station Manager Kaleem Mazari told Dawn that the flight for Lahore and Islamabad had been cancelled because of the technical fault in the front wheel of the plane. “The pilot refused to fly the plane and now PIA engineers from Karachi will visit Rahim Yar Khan on flight PK-582 and repair the wheel. All passengers going to Lahore and Islamabad have been advised to return home.”

Chaudhry Akram, a passenger, told journalists that he was going to Saudi Arabia with his daughter and grandson to perform Umrah and he had to get cancelled his tickets of connecting flight from Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2016