‘Mayday! Mayday!’ At least 100 dead as Airbus falls from the sky in Pakistan
Smoke billows from the Karachi crash scene. Photo: Twitter Photo: Twitter
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane carrying 91 passengers and eight crew has crashed into a residential area of Karachi.
Two passengers are reported to have survived the crash, a government official says, but their condition is not know.
No Australians are know to have been aboard.
The pilot of of the airliner sent a Mayday and told controllers the aircraft had lost power from both its engines on its second attempt to land, according to a recording posted on an aviation-monitoring website.
After the aircraft reportedly called off an earlier attempt to land and went around for a second attempt, a controller radioed the pilot of flight 8303 that he appeared to be turning left, suggesting he was off-course.
A transmission of the pilot’s final exchange with air traffic control, posted on website LiveATC.net, indicated he had failed to land and was circling to make another attempt.
Miraculous Escape: President of Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud survives the plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan. Shifted to a local hospital. Reports coming in that few others have survived the tragic accident as well. pic.twitter.com/XCYdsZDwGG
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 22, 2020
“We are proceeding direct, sir — we have lost engine,” a pilot said.
“Confirm your attempt on belly,” the air traffic controller said, offering a runway
The pilot replied, “We are returning back, sir, we have lost engines.”
The controller cleared the plane to land on either of Karachi airport’s two West-Southwest-facing runways.
Twelve seconds later the pilot called “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” and was again cleared to use either runway. There was no further communication from the aircraft, according to the audio from liveatc.net, a respected source for in-flight recordings.
Geo TV broadcaster showed crowds near the scene, which appeared to be a densely populated area, and ambulances trying to make their way through.
Black smoke billowed and several cars were on fire.
The Pakistani army said its quick reaction force and paramilitary troops had reached the site for relief and rescue efforts alongside civil administration bodies.
— DEGRANDE (@syldeg59) May 22, 2020
-with AAP
