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This article documents a current plane crash. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303

AP-BLD, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 2016
Accident
Date	22 May 2020
Summary	Crashed on final approach due to possible dual engine failure; under investigation
Site	Near Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan 24°54′42″N 67°11′16″E / 24.91167°N 67.18778°E / 24.91167; 67.18778
Total fatalities	97
Total injuries	At least 10 (2 onboard, 8 on ground)
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A320-214
Operator	Pakistan International Airlines
IATA flight No.	PK8303
ICAO flight No.	PIA8303
Call sign	Pakistan 8303
Registration	AP-BLD
Flight origin	Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, Pakistan
Destination	Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan
Occupants	99
Passengers	91
Crew	8
Fatalities	97
Injuries	2
Survivors	2
Ground casualties
Ground injuries	8

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 was a scheduled domestic flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. On 22 May 2020, the Airbus A320 crashed in Model Colony, a densely populated residential area of Karachi, while on final approach to Jinnah International Airport, a few kilometers away from the runway. There were 91 passengers and eight crew members on board the aircraft. At least 97 people were killed in the crash. Two onboard survivors were rescued.

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-214, which was built in 2004 and operated by China Eastern Airlines as B-6017 between 2004 and 2014. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) then leased the aircraft from GE Capital Aviation Services on 31 October 2014, with registration AP-BLD. It was powered by CFM56-5B4/P engines. The PIA's engineering department reported that the last thorough maintenance check on the plane was conducted on 21 March, during which no defects were found in its engines, landing gear or avionics. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority had declared the aircraft fit for flight until 5 November 2020. The plane had operated a flight from Muscat to Lahore on the day prior to the accident. According to Airbus, the aircraft had logged close to 47,100 flight hours.

Approximate location of the crash site: Jinnah International Airport is marked by the green circle, Model Colony by the red triangle. Location of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan. Location of Karachi in Asia.

Accident

The flight, piloted by Captain Sajjad Gul, took off from Lahore shortly after 1 p.m. and was near the end of its 90-minute journey, when it crashed at around 2:45 p.m. local time (09:45 UTC) over the "heavily congested" neighbourhood of Model Colony around 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the Karachi airport. The aircraft's wings were reported as being on fire in the moments before the plane crashed into rooftops. The crash damaged buildings in the area, some of which caught fire. The crash was captured on video by a CCTV camera.

The pilot had made an aborted landing attempt before he encountered a technical issue. He radioed air traffic control (ATC) to report the technical problems—an engine failure or landing gear problems. Shortly before contact was lost, ATC told the pilot that he was cleared to use either of the airport's two runways, requesting "Confirm your attempt on belly". According to PIA's CEO, Arshad Malik, the technical fault prompted the pilot to make a go-around rather than land, even though both runways were available to him. The pilot reportedly told the controller, "we are returning back, sir, we have lost engines". Twelve seconds later, he issued a mayday alert, which was the final communication between the control room and the aircraft.

The narrow streets and alleys comprising the area inhibited the rescue services. ISPR, the Pakistani military's media wing, reported that special forces of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers had set up a cordon. Video footage of the crash scene from GEO TV showed emergency teams trying to reach the scene amid rubble, clouds of black smoke and flames in the background.

Some residents stated aircraft had previously come very close to the building roofs. Edhi Welfare Trust's Faisal Edhi stated that at least 25 houses suffered damages due to the crash. PIA's spokesman Abdullah Hafiz Khan has said that 18 houses were destroyed or badly damaged.

Victims

Pakistan International Airlines released details of the flight manifest which shows 91 passengers (51 men, 31 women, and 9 children). The death toll was confirmed as 97, with no one on the ground thought be among the victims. One of the passengers was an American citizen. The model and actress Zara Abid was reported as one of the flight's passengers.

Five officers from the Pakistan Army and one from the Pakistan Air Force were among the victims. Faisal Edhi stated that 25–30 people were hospitalised, mostly due to burns. Meeran Yousaf, spokesman of Sindh's Health department, has said eight residents of the colony were injured in the crash and most victims' corpses had suffered burns. Most of them were women and children.

The city's mayor, Waseem Akhtar, said that there had been no onboard survivors, but one passenger was reportedly contacted by his family after the crash, according to Al Jazeera. It was later confirmed that the president of the Bank of Punjab had survived the crash. A mechanical engineer, was also confirmed to have survived. Zubair told the Geo News TV channel: "All I could see was fire. I couldn't see any people — just hear their screams."

Aftermath

The Sindh Minister of Health & Population Welfare declared a state of emergency for Karachi's hospitals, while Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered all available resources to the crash site, as did the chief of the Pakistan Air Force. Khan also announced an inquiry, while PIA was reported to have shut down its website. The President, Arif Alvi, tweeted condolences "to the families of the deceased". Public figures across Pakistan expressed their sadness and shock at the incident. Many international leaders and celebrities also sent their condolences.

Pakistan had allowed domestic flights to resume, following suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic, six days earlier on 16 May. Because this occurred during the last days of Ramadan, many people were expected to travel in order to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their families. The pandemic had already stretched Pakistani health resources.

Airbus announced they are providing assistance to the investigation.

Following the crash, both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were found and handed over to the inquiry board.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A320 family

Notes

1. All flights had been suspended on 29 March; International flights are not scheduled to resume until 1 June 2020.

References

1. ^ Zulfikar, Fahad (22 May 2020). "PIA plane carrying 99 on-board crashes in Karachi". Business Recorder. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
2. ^ "PK8303 Crisis Statement Page". Airbus.com. Airbus. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
3. ^ "Pakistani passenger jet crashes near Karachi airport". Deutsche Welle. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. ^ Naseer, Tahir; Hassan, Qazi; Siddiqui, Naveed (22 May 2020). "At least 80 killed as plane with 99 onboard crashes into residential area near Karachi airport". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
5. ^ "Turbulence, warnings before Pakistan plane crash killed 97". Detriot News. Retrieved 23 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
6. ^ Calder, Simon; Hamdani, Raza (22 May 2020). "Pakistan plane crash: Khan calls for an investigation after Airbus jet come down near Karachi, killing dozens". The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. Kulkarni, Pranav (22 May 2020). "Pakistan International Airlines flight to over 100 people onboard crashes near Karachi Airport; several dead". Times Now. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. ^ "Pakistan plane crash: Dozens die as jet hits homes in Karachi". BBC News. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
9. "Pakistan plane crash survivor: 'All I could see was smoke and fire'". 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.
10. ^ "Pakistan plane crashes near Karachi, all 107 killed". Economic Times. Associated Press. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "AP-BLD PIA Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320-214". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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13. ^ Naseer, Tahir (23 May 2020). "Crashed Airbus last checked on Mar 21, returned from Muscat a day ago". Dawn. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
14. "Survivor of Pakistan plane crash recounts horror". DW News. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
15. ^ "At least 57 dead as Pakistan plane crashes in residential area in Karachi". The Times of India. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. ^ Rai, Arpan (22 May 2020). "'We lost an engine': PIA plane pilot calmly tells ATC moments before crash". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
17. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah; Baloch, Shah Meer (22 May 2020). "Dozens killed as passenger plane crashes near Karachi airport". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
18. ^ Hashim, Asad (22 May 2020). "Pakistan passenger plane crashes in southern city of Karachi". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
19. "Plane crashes into residential area in Pakistan". The West Australian. 22 May 2020.
20. ^ "Scores feared dead as passenger jet crashes in Pakistan". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. Agence France-Presse. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
21. Dey, Stela (22 May 2020). "CCTV Video Shows PIA Plane Crashing Into Karachi Building". NDTV. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
22. "Pakistan plane crash: At least two survivors after aircraft carrying 98 people crashes in Karachi". Sky News. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
23. "Pakistan crash pilot sent Mayday with 'lost engines': liveatc.net". Reuters. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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25. "Pakistan Plane Crashed: 97 died, Law Enforcement Operation | PAKISTAN". EMEA Tribune News | Pakistan News | India News | Europe News | World News. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
26. ^ "'We have lost engines': Tragedy as PIA flight PK-8303 crashes in residential area near Karachi airport". Geo TV. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
27. Hansler, Jennifer. "One American was aboard the plane that crashed in Karachi, official says". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
28. Pallavi, Krishna Priya (22 May 2020). "Pakistani model Zara Abid feared dead in PIA plane crash". India Today. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
29. Mandhro, Sameer (23 May 2020). "Zara Abid not on the current list of crash survivors: Health Department". tribune.pk. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
30. "Five Pakistan Army officers martyred in PIA plane crash". Daily Pakistan. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
31. "97 dead, 2 survived as Pakistan plane crashes into crowded Karachi colony". India Today. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
32. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
33. "Head of Pakistan's Bank of Punjab among two survivors of PIA plane crash". Tribune India. 23 May 2020.
34. Report, Staff (22 May 2020). "PIA flight with 99 on board crashes in Karachi".
35. ^ George, Susannah (23 May 2020). "'All I could see was fire,' survivor describes aftermath of plane crash that killed dozens". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
36. Imran Khan (22 May 2020). "Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash. Am in touch with PIA CEO Arshad Malik, who has left for Karachi & with the rescue & relief teams on ground as this is the priority right now. Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
37. "Pakistani celebrities express sorrow over loss of lives in PIA plane crash in Karachi". The News. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
38. "'Devastating, heartbreaking': International, local leaders react to PIA plane crash". Dawn. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
39. "Karachi Plane Crash: Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi and others mourn the loss of lives". India TV. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
40. Saifi, Sophia; Raja, Adeel; Laura, Smith-Spark (22 May 2020). "Dozens killed as Pakistani airliner crashes in Karachi". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
41. Airbus (22 May 2020). "We regret to confirm that an A320 operated by Pakistan International Airlines was involved in an accident during flight #PK8303 from Lahore to Karachi on May, 22 2020. Our thoughts are with all those affected. Airbus is providing assistance to the investigation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

• Media related to Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 at Wikimedia Commons
• Crash footage on YouTube
• Air Traffic Control recording on YouTube
• Flight data on Flightradar24

• Pakistan
• Aviation

• Current events from May 2020
• 2020 disasters in Asia
• 2020 in Sindh
• 2020s in Karachi
• 2020 in Pakistan
• Accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A320
• Airliner accidents and incidents with an unknown cause
• Aviation accidents and incidents in 2020
• Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan
• May 2020 events in Asia
• Pakistan International Airlines accidents and incidents