"Ill-fated aircraft previously evaded mishap in Chitral'

ISLAMABAD: Ill-fated ATR-42 aircraft, which crashed into a mountain resulting in death of all 47 people during PIA flight ATR-42 from Islamabad to Chitral, had evade an earlier mishap before landing at Chitral airport, an inquiry of the investigation team of ARY News revealed.

A passenger, Waqas Ahmed, who had travel from Peshawar to Chitral on the same aircraft on December 07, has informed the ARY News that an explosion was heard during the flight from Peshawar to Chitral.

Waqas Ahmed, a lawyer by profession, said a noisy sound was continuously heard by passengers during the flight. The landing at Chitral airport was also unusual, he said. “It felt as the aircraft has been hurled from the air to the runway,” the passenger added.

An ATR-42 aircraft carrying 47 people en route from the mountainous Chitral to capital Islamabad issued a Mayday call on December 07 last week before losing radar contact and crashing into a mountain, killing everyone on board.

The aircraft appeared to have suffered a failure in one of its two turboprop engines just before the crash, to be confirmed by an investigation.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) grounded its fleet of 10 European-made ATR planes after the tragic incident for ‘shakedown’ checks.