A Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying more than 100 people crashed Friday in a residential area of Karachi, whose mayor said everyone aboard was killed, according to reports.
Flight PK 8303 took off from the eastern city of Lahore and was due to land at 2:30 p.m. local time in Karachi but disappeared from the radar, airline spokesman Abdullah Khan told CNN.
The pilot made a mayday call saying he was experiencing technical problems, Khan said.
“He had been told both landing strips were available for his use but he preferred to use the go around landing route, we are looking into the technical issue. Our prayers for the lives that have been lost,” he added.
A senior civil aviation official told Reuters it appeared the plane was unable to lower its landing gear due to a technical fault, but that it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.
Witnesses said the plane appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in the poor and congested residential area known as Model Colony.
The state carrier said the flight carried 99 passengers and eight crew members, though civil aviation officials said the total for both may be 99, according to Reuters.
The plane — which tracking website flightradar24.com identified as a 15-year-old Airbus A320 — was flying just as Pakistan was resuming domestic flights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
TV footage showed thick smoke billowing from the scene, some roofs caved in and debris strewn along the streets as ambulances rushed through chaotic crowds of people.
Several vehicles were on fire, the footage showed.
“The aeroplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses,” witness Shakeel Ahmed told Reuters near the crash site a few miles from the Jinnah International Airport.
Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: “Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash. . . Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased.”
Airworthiness documents showed the aircraft last received a government check on Nov. 1, 2019.
PIA’s chief engineer signed a certificate on April 28 stating that all maintenance had been conducted on the plane and that “the aircraft is fully airworthy and meets all the safety” standards.
Ownership records for the plane showed China Eastern Airlines flew it from 2004 until 2014. The plane then entered PIA’s fleet, leased from GE Capital Aviation Services.
Pakistan has a checkered military and civilian aviation safety record.
In 2016, a PIA plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed en route to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.
PIA has been beset by frequent cancellations, delays and financial troubles — and was involved in multiple controversies over the years, including the jailing of a drunken pilot in Britain in 2013.
The crash comes as Pakistanis are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many traveling back to their homes in cities and villages.
With Post wires
