PIA's Islamabad-bound flight develops technical fault

KARACHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Karachi to Islamabad has developed a technical fault before taking off to its destination, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The passengers of the PIA’s Karachi-Islamabad flight have faced a delay in departure for more than 1.5 hours following the aircraft’s technical fault.

Airport sources said that the flight is likely to depart for Islamabad at 5:30 pm now and the engineers are currently repairing the aircraft. Sources added that the flight will be cleared to take off after the clearance of the technical fault.

READ: PIA FLIGHT LANDS SAFELY AT KARACHI AIRPORT AFTER MID-AIR FAULT

Earlier in the day, it emerged that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Air Canada aircraft had a close call at Toronto airport due to alleged negligence by the former’s pilot.

Canada’s aviation regulator has issued a report on the near-miss that took place on Oct 17.

The incident involved a PIA Boeing 777-200 aircraft that was preparing to take off from Toronto airport for Islamabad and an Air Canada Boeing 777-333ER arriving from Incheon, South Korea.

The PIA aircraft taxied onto Taxiway Q “without clearance,” the report said, adding the plane passed the hold line on Taxiway Q and entered the runway protected area (RPA) for Runway 23.

READ: BAHRAIN-ISLAMABAD FLIGHT NARROWLY ESCAPES MAJOR DISASTER

It said the Air Canada aircraft that had already begun the final approach to the same runway was instructed to “conduct a go-round”. The aircraft landed safely after a 15-minute delay.

The Canadian aviation authority said an air traffic controller’s timely action averted a potentially disastrous crash.

A spokesperson for the PIA said the management of the national airline has already taken notice of the alleged negligence by its pilot.