PIA Haj Flight Aborts Takeoff

JEDDAH, 2 March 2004 — A PIA Haj flight to Quetta had to abort takeoff here yesterday after experiencing engine trouble.

Flight PK 2002 had 261 passengers and 10 crew members on board and was on the runway when the pilot detected an engine problem, a local official of the airline said.

“Preliminary investigations determined that one of the plane’s engines had broken its outer fan after sucking in a metal object from the ground,” said an agency report quoting Imran Gardezi, a spokesman for the airline said in Karachi. There was no other damage to the plane, an Airbus 310.

The airline sent another aircraft to Jeddah to fly the pilgrims back to Quetta.