RAWALPINDI, Jan 4: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are trying to pass on the blame to each other concerning Monday's incident in which PK-786 arriving from London escaped disaster when one of its engines hit the runway while landing.

However, both the PIA and the CAA are unanimously holding the pilot at fault. According to PIA sources, when PK-786, carrying 376 passengers, reached here on Monday morning, the Air Traffic Control of Islamabad International Airport reported that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) of the airfield was out of order.

In the circumstances, the airline sources said, the pilot adopted the 'Very High Omni Range' approach, which was almost a manual way for landing. In the first attempt, the pilot could not see the airstrip due to poor visibility and was forced to go round to make a second attempt, during which the out board right-side engine pod inadvertently touched the runway while landing, the sources said.

A source supported the perception that the pilot was at fault, but saying it was an inadvertent mistake. However, a top Civil Aviation Authority official contested the PIA claim that the ILS was faulty, saying it was an attempt to conceal "own follies".

The official said the ILS had different components, one of which had been shut down at the time of the incident because of routine maintenance and not for being out of order as claimed by the PIA.

The closure of the ILS had been notified to all the airlines, including the PIA, well in advance on December 11. The CAA, the official said, had also notified the alternatives that could have been used by the pilot in such a situation. "However, he over looked those options." The official said the incident was a result of pilot's mistake - and quite a serious one - that could have ended up in a disaster.