PIA’s Jeddah-bound flight develops technical fault

KARACHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Multan to Jeddah on Thursday made an emergency landing at the Muscat Airport after developing a technical fault soon after it took off, ARY News reported.

Well-placed sources said PIA’s Boeing-777 pilot made contact with the air traffic controller at the Muscat airport, after the development of a technical fault. It has been learnt by ARY News that warning alarms of the cargo gate of the Boeing 777 started ringing due to overload, which forced the pilot to make the landing.

After clearance from the ATC at the Muscat airport, the PIA’s aircraft was allowed to make the landing. As many as seven tonnes of the luggage of the passengers were offloaded.

The PIA spokesperson said that the plane made landing as a protective measure and will soon take off from the Muscat airport after inspection and clearance.

Earlier, a Pakistan International Airlines flight had landed safely at Karachi airport, after it developed a technical fault en route from Abu-Dhabi to Peshawar.

According to details, the pilot of PIA flight no. PK-218 contacted air traffic controller (ATC) after the plane developed mid-air fault in its hydraulics system. The pilot of the plane had wisely landed it safely at Karachi airport.