In pictures: PIA flight PK-8303 crashes in Karachi's Model Colony
An estimated 98 people were said to be on board.
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crashed in Karachi's Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport on Friday. An estimated 99 people were said to be on board, including 91 passengers and 8 crew members.
“The aeroplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses,” witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the site, just a few kilometres short of the airport.
Footage from the crash showed plumes of smoke rising from the remains as rescue workers and officials scrambled to get to the victims.
Header image: A firefighter tries to put out fire caused by plane crash in Karachi on May 22. — AP
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Comments (98) Closed
abdul
May 22, 2020 07:49pm
Tragic News just before Eid. Our Prayers are with Families to those on board.
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RAGHUNATH
May 22, 2020 07:53pm
sad, cried yes unable console
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Raja
May 22, 2020 07:55pm
So sad. My heart bleeds for the people who have lost their near and dear. Very sad.
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Ahmed khan lehri
May 22, 2020 07:58pm
Rip
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Wanthi Baedhi
May 22, 2020 07:59pm
What goes around comes around
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Kahaf Usman
May 22, 2020 08:03pm
Inna lilahi wa inna ilahi rajiyoun. :(
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Imran
May 22, 2020 08:05pm
Yet another sad day. Rest in peace lovely people.
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Himanshu M
May 22, 2020 08:05pm
Its always a human error, leads to a crash of a plane.
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Surya Kant
May 22, 2020 08:07pm
Very sorry to hear news of loss of human lives.
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Thomas
May 22, 2020 08:07pm
Maintaining an aircraft of an airline, is the most necessity after every flight. Needs calibration of certain instruments accordingly. A slight miss, can cause disaster.
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Jamil Ahmed
May 22, 2020 08:07pm
Rest in peace
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Pankaj
May 22, 2020 08:10pm
British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, after every flight they check minutely the fuselage, engines and the fans, and sure PIA staff dont do or not trained to do.
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Indian
May 22, 2020 08:10pm
@Wanthi Baedhi,
And what is that supposed to mean?
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M. Emad
May 22, 2020 08:11pm
Tall houses near Karachi airport.
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amin khan
May 22, 2020 08:15pm
Where is PM, Minister Aviation, Secretary Aviation and CEO PIA.
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Jagyaseni Biswas
May 22, 2020 08:17pm
Sudden stopping/shutting down of two engines during flight is fishy? Needs proper & thorough investigation.
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Amanullah Awan
May 22, 2020 08:21pm
Inna lillahe wa inna elihe rajoon!
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bhaRAT©
May 22, 2020 08:22pm
@M. Emad,
You are very observant!!!
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Taj Ahmad
May 22, 2020 08:29pm
So sad, just before the holidays (Eid) RIP to all
who tragically died and pray and quick recovery
who survived and families. PIA has a good record
of safety issue in the Air Lines Industry but don't
know what exactly happened to this plane???
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kp
May 22, 2020 08:35pm
Never fly in PIA, too many accidents, to many incidents swept under the carpet. Pay little bit higher and choose others
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Covid
May 22, 2020 08:39pm
RIP
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RDM
May 22, 2020 08:41pm
@Pankaj, Each & every Airlines in the world, including poorest African Airlines follows the SOP. Otherwise, there will be a daily air crashes in the world. Let's not poke nose into irrelevant matters, atleast during sensitive time.
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Zulfiqar
May 22, 2020 08:45pm
@Pankaj, please check whose planes, pilots and staff both air crew and ground staff did Emirates airline use to launch themselves into airline industry. FYI it was PIA. Sad to see this unwarranted hate
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Gordon D. Walker
May 22, 2020 08:46pm
Condolences from this Canadian. SAD...
Gordon D. Walker
Canada
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prince
May 22, 2020 08:46pm
Horrible accident....... RIP to innocent lives
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Rajinder Singh Manhas
May 22, 2020 08:47pm
Heartfelt condolences to families of departed souls. Hope the ones who are alive recover fully!
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Balakrishna
May 22, 2020 08:56pm
Shocking. Saddened . RIP.
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Kala Ingrez
May 22, 2020 08:56pm
Inna lilahi wa inna ilahi rajiyoun
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Sudais
May 22, 2020 09:14pm
RIP
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Sudais
May 22, 2020 09:15pm
RIP
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Ravi Vancouver
May 22, 2020 09:31pm
Veery sad news before Eid. RIP, condolences for vicims families.
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Sundeep
May 22, 2020 09:33pm
So sad to hear this news right before holy festival EID. Thoughts and prayers with families who has lost loved ones.
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Shakil Saghir
May 22, 2020 09:35pm
@Pankaj, They do. Most of the Middle East carriers have ex-PIA staff.
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Javaid Hameed
May 22, 2020 09:36pm
Deepest condolences for the affected families of the crash victims.
817 966 8286 Javaid Hameed Fort Worth Texas U.S.A.
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Javaid Hameed
May 22, 2020 09:38pm
May the departed souls have the doors of Jannah open and the immediate families have strength and patience in this hour of calamity Ameen.
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Shail
May 22, 2020 09:41pm
Tragic news. just on the eve of Ramzan. Our prayers are with the families of the deceased.
RIP!
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Vivek wani
May 22, 2020 09:48pm
Rip.
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Hussain Haider
May 22, 2020 09:48pm
Very very sad !
Loss of life is always sad and painful. These recurring PIA incidents need to be investigated, lessons should be learnt and those responsible should be brought to justice.With covid restrictions on running of an airline, there is a need more than usual of aircraft maintenance, flying skills and training. RIP
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Tom
May 22, 2020 09:51pm
RIP
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Abdul gani dar
May 22, 2020 09:52pm
Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajiuoon: Very shocking & sad news:mayAllah bestow solace & tranquillity to the departed souls in Janatul firdose & patience to the bereaved!
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Gagan
May 22, 2020 10:04pm
Bad news from everywhere these days..Almighty is not happy with the way we are living.....Tragedies are occurring as we are living against nature.....Condolences to the families of the bereaved.Irreparable loss to the families...RIP...
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Vinod
May 22, 2020 10:06pm
Rest In Peace... Sad to hear
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Lahis
May 22, 2020 10:08pm
Tragic. Sad.
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M N Shukla
May 22, 2020 10:08pm
My heartfelt condolences.. may their souls rest in peace
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Craig
May 22, 2020 10:15pm
Sending condolences and prayers from America to all the victims of this crash.
#Karachi #Strong!
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Vikas
May 22, 2020 10:19pm
Sad news. Usually there are not many residential areas around airports as a general rule. IF that is not the case in Karachi maybe it's time to plan for a new airport further away or at least change the runway approach from a lesser inhabited area.
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sameer pandita
May 22, 2020 10:34pm
Tragic .My condolences to the bereaved families .
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pregnant Pakistani
May 22, 2020 10:37pm
sad
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Aftab, NJ
May 22, 2020 10:47pm
Condolences to the families. Best wishes to the survivors. Very sad to hear this.
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Naeem
May 22, 2020 10:57pm
@Wanthi Baedhi, What do you mean by this statement?
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N_Saq
May 22, 2020 11:03pm
RIP
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Carlos Simlin
May 22, 2020 11:17pm
My condolences.. My prayers for all the victims
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Sam
May 22, 2020 11:34pm
@Pankaj, That doesnt make sense. If that was the case, the rate of disasters would have been much more.
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Zee
May 23, 2020 12:02am
@Vikas - that’s not true at all, Mumbai, HongKong, New York and many other Intl airports are close to large, dense populations ...
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Amit Shukla
May 23, 2020 12:32am
Sad time for entire humanity. We are getting just worst news from across the globe. Just praying to Almighty please turn this negative time into positivity.
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jay
May 23, 2020 12:49am
Heartfelt condolences.
Wish a speedy recovery for all the injured.
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bhaRAT©
May 23, 2020 01:42am
Where is IK. No statements until now, atleast look at Pakistan now
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Kris
May 23, 2020 02:10am
@Pankaj, Yes, they are trained...no human engineered system has reliability of 100%!
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Mir
May 23, 2020 02:12am
Time to revisit the presence of tall buildings near the runway!
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Qasim M Khan
May 23, 2020 02:31am
@Pankaj, I don't agree with your last comment about training; PIA aircraft and equipment may not be the latest compared to the airlines you have mentioned, but safety checks and maintaing QC standards happen as per international norms.
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Qasim M Khan
May 23, 2020 02:39am
@Himanshu M, Many accidents, yes unfortunately do happen because of human error, but NOT ALL. Everything man made will at some point fail, no matter what you do!
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Syed
May 23, 2020 02:52am
Rest in peace,unbearable loss to the families and friends.
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Ashish Khurana
May 23, 2020 02:59am
Om shanti
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Samiullah khan
May 23, 2020 03:09am
@Vikas, this is a good suggestion, but many people will then start building houses and builders will build new housing colonies near new airport. This is mentality of people to buy property as near as possible to airport as its market value is better.
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Asad
May 23, 2020 03:39am
@Wanthi Baedhi, What do you mean by this statement?
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Raja Hindustani
May 23, 2020 05:27am
What a terrible disaster to happen. When people in the neighborhood wake up the next morning, it will be hard for them to realize that this chilling, unfortunate accident happened right in their neighborhood. May almighty give courage and strength of the affected families to overcome this tragic situation. There is always a dawn after the dusk.
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Ahmed Malik
May 23, 2020 05:44am
Don’t really expect an honest and transparent inquiry. Planes don't just fall out of the sky. Clearly something very wrong occurred.
It is no secret that PIA’s planes are in a bad shape.
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Siraj Ulmulk
May 23, 2020 06:14am
There is a high possibility that both engines failing in the immediate vicinity of the aerodrome traffic area was caused by hitting a flock of birds. I have been in an aircraft which lost one engine due to bird hit but landed safely at Islamabad airport. Birds can hit both engines instead of one.
CAA people are given a quota of 12 bore gun cartridges to shoo away birds near runways but they are seldom seen using them.
The waste disposal all over Karachi is abysmally poor. If a lesson needs to be learnt from this tragic crash it should start with proper waste disposal at Karachi even if such work has to be out sourced to the Chinese or the Turks.
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Kashif
May 23, 2020 06:24am
@Wanthi Baedhi, are you ok?
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dean
May 23, 2020 06:54am
Wanthi you must be a sick individual. please get some Help!!
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Nez
May 23, 2020 07:05am
@Wanthi Baedhi, ???? Y r you even here commenting?
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Nez
May 23, 2020 07:06am
@Vikas, : Mumbai has a huge slum near its airport.
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LgbtqX
May 23, 2020 07:29am
@pregnant Pakistani, needed to know.
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Javaid
May 23, 2020 07:30am
@Himanshu M, please don’t jump to conclusions
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Javaid
May 23, 2020 07:32am
@Pankaj, Cathy pacific , Emirates, Air India , Malaysian , British airways , American Airlines all have had history of plane crashes
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Love my country
May 23, 2020 08:05am
@Wanthi Baedhi, so sad to read your comment. Shame on you Please have some decency.
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Amit S
May 23, 2020 08:09am
This is a very tragic event. Condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
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Karamat
May 23, 2020 08:32am
@Pankaj, none of these airlines ever had crash including Indian airlines which has the worst record in the world?? Typical cheap
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Ajay Dutt
May 23, 2020 08:46am
Very sad and tragic loss,
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Jagadish Patwardhan
May 23, 2020 09:12am
Very sad news.let departed soul rest in peace.
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G.venkataraman
May 23, 2020 09:15am
Extremely tragic . Deeply saddened to know that so many people have lost their lives.
My sympathies and prayers are with those who are left to grieve the loss of people dearer to them.
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Issak
May 23, 2020 09:22am
This crash is one of the many that has resulted in unnecessary lose of lives in Pakistani aviation history.. question remains whether qualified personal is engaged in maintenance of these sophisticated passenger jets...an overhaul is mandatory from top to bottom to ensure these kinds of disasters don't happen again..even if it means in hiring experienced mechanics from overseas..
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Jagadish Patwardhan
May 23, 2020 09:28am
Very sad news May departed soul rest in peace.
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Shameer Shams
May 23, 2020 09:31am
Condolences from India
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T. M. Reddy
May 23, 2020 09:47am
Any estimates of deaths on the ground? If any it is much more devastating
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Nick, NY
May 23, 2020 09:49am
Unless selections are made on merit rather than political affiliation, domicile...the sequence of failures and crashes will continue! This is a big warning...time to reboot PIA!
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Azhar
May 23, 2020 10:01am
why didn't Pilot go for crash landing??
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Sara
May 23, 2020 10:13am
Sad. PIA should be held accountable.
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Sarcasm
May 23, 2020 11:11am
@Karamat, check the number of flights PIA operates and compare it to other national carriers,you will see the difference.
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Dr.Quantum
May 23, 2020 12:00pm
@Zulfiqar, hate ?? He said truth try to listen people too .. sad peoples lost lives RIP
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Raj
May 23, 2020 02:06pm
Really sad... Our prayers for friends n families of deceased. May injured recover soon..
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Faisal
May 23, 2020 03:46pm
Ameen
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A
May 23, 2020 04:38pm
@Zulfiqar, Not pilots. Maintenance crew, staff, funding and diligence is the point.
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Mack
May 23, 2020 05:10pm
Can’t stop thinking of the crash, the families and the neighborhood of the accident.
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Jonathan
May 23, 2020 05:36pm
@Nick, NY, Plus there has to be accountability! Unless the culprits of the past accidents are punished, the future accidents will continue to happen.
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Ariba
May 23, 2020 05:42pm
Actually, the engineers who cleared the aircraft need to be held accountable. Also the manifest of travellers needs to be deeply scrutinized to assess who is who that was travelling, as there might be that one specific person, or persons who may have been the real target, for whom this heinous crime was enacted killing so many innocent people. This requires forensic assessment and checking, right from the time people started booking, their backgrounds, and their reasons of travel. Not just the simple reason to fly or travel from one place to another. But more deeper assessments of their reasons to travel. This should lead to a conclusive reason, and then disclose those findings, and have the persons accountable hanged. No trials. Till the punishment is hard, crimes will ensue.
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Farooq Faisal
May 23, 2020 07:16pm
@Himanshu M,
It's not always a human error, but a majority of aviation accidents are due to human errors...like this accident in Model Colony: A Pilot's Error!
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Bashir
May 23, 2020 10:45pm
It is so sad and unfortunate but it all happened due to the negligence of one person. Can we make sure that PIA aircraft are in excellent condition to fly? And PIA esteemed pilots will not take a matter into their own hands and follow the aircraft manual properly.
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