TORONTO, 12 January 2007 — The pilot’s spur-of-the-moment decision helped a PIA Boeing 777 with over 300 passengers on board escape a potential disaster. The plane developed a technical fault soon after takeoff from Toronto, sources said here yesterday. Civil Aviation sources said one of the plane’s engines developed technical fault and began to vibrate after the aircraft took off.
Sensing the danger, the pilot consulted Karachi flight control authorities and decided to take the aircraft back to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Initial investigation suggested that the damage to the engine could have been caused by a “foreign object.” It is believed that the object might have hit the engine at the time of takeoff.
PIA engineer M.D. Akhtar, who flew from New York to Toronto on Wednesday, said some parts were urgently needed to fix the engine. PIA’s Airport Manager Azhar Salim told Arab News the engine parts were expected to reach here from Cincinnati and Ohio and would take several hours to fix the engine. After repairs flight PK 790 will leave for Pakistan.
As per schedule, the Lahore-bound PIA flight had taken off from Toronto Airport on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (local time), but landed back after the fault developed.
