Airplane with mechanical issue headed to Pearson Airport in Mississauga diverted to Pakistan
Published May 19, 2024 at 11:06 am
A flight headed from Islamabad to Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga was diverted to Karachi due to mechanical problems.
On Friday (May 17), a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 flight that took off at 2:15 p.m. had to turn back hours later because of a hydraulic issue.
The plane was reportedly about 1,800 nautical miles north of Islamabad, flying at 32,000 feet when the crew decided to turn around.
The flight with 268 passengers on board landed safely in Karachi, Pakistan, nine hours after departing from Islamabad.
A spokesperson for the airline said the flight had been airborne for four hours and was over Russia when the issue was detected.
According to Flightaware.com, a real-time aircraft tracking service indicated that the flight had been diverted.
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Although the issue was minor, the same aircraft had experienced this problem before, and the captain chose to return to Karachi rather than continue the long journey over the Atlantic Ocean. Returning to Karachi was also preferred due to better repair facilities and the availability of spare parts at the engineering base.
The plane landed shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday, May 18.
Passengers were accommodated at an airport hotel until the next scheduled flight to Toronto, which was 12 hours later.
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