RAWALPINDI: A Qatar Airways plane that flew from Doha to Islamabad was grounded when its tail was found struck with some object after landing at the Islamabad International Airport on Sunday.

A Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said in a statement on Sunday night that some scratches were found on the plane’s tail on inspection after the flight QR-614 landed.

He said the pilot of the plane — an Airbus-359 with 277 passengers on board — delayed the first landing at Islamabad International Airport due to strong wind and preferred a go-around over an unstable landing and alerted the tower.

The spokesman said that the plane landed safely in the second attempt but on inspection, scratches were found on the tail of the plane.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board has launc­hed an investigation to determine the cause of the scratches and to clear the aircraft for flying.

Airbus had been informed about the incident, the spok­e­sman said, adding that the aircraft had been declared AOG (aircraft on ground) after inspection by engineers.

Members of the Air Force and the AAIB also inspected the aircraft and a detailed report was being prepared, he said, adding that blood and urine samples of the pilot had been obtained as per a standard operating procedure. The airline shifted the passengers to a hotel as the Islamabad-Doha flight had been cancelled, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2023