‘We have lost an engine’: PIA plane pilot calmly tells ATC moments before crash

Islamabad: Sajjad Gul, the pilot of the Pakistan International Airline plane that crashed claiming 92 lives near Karachi airport on Friday afternoon, told air traffic controllers moments before crashing into a residential area that he had lost an engine, according to audiotapes of his last conversation played by news channel ARY.

The plane had taken off from Lahore airport with 99 passengers a little after 1 pm claimed.

Sajjad Gul, described by Pakistan Airline Pilots Association as one of its most experienced members, had made one aborted landing attempt before reporting the technical problem that he faced, according to local media reports.

“We have lost an engine…. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” the pilot is heard calmly telling the traffic controllers who told him to land on any of the two runways that had been left open for him

The pilot, however, went for a go-around, said PIA chief executive officer Air Vice Marshal Arshad Malik. Communication between the ATC and the plane snapped soon after.

Source: Hindustan Times