"The aircraft touched the runway surface on its engines," the report said. After the report about fake licenses, all the three airlines that operate within Pakistan released a list of the names of the pilots who passed their exams via unfair means and shockingly, the list includes the name of both the sisters. KARACHI: Pakistan Inter-national Airlines (PIA) has grounded 141 pilots whose licences are suspected to be fake. “It is a serious allegation that around 150 PIA pilots have been flying aircrafts with fake/invalid licences which is apparently a big question mark on … "We have decided to ground those 150 pilots with bogus licences with immediate effect," he said. While this was revealed during the presentation of the findings of the crash of PK8303, it hasn’t been revealed whether either of the pilots in question had fake licenses. Patronage politics has also led to large-scale recruitments, making it one of the most overstaffed airlines in the world. Pakistan International Airlines is the largest airline in Pakistan, though not the only one (there’s also Serene Air and Air Blue). The pilots were distracted, talking about coronavirus with each other as both of their families had been affected by the virus. Many feel a one-off blame on individual error or fake educational degrees will only help to keep the doors shut on transparency and prevent wider exposure of the vested interests that have brought PIA to where it is today. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the flag carrier of Pakistan, has terminated the contracts of at least 50 employees, including pilots and cabin crew, for holding false degrees. According to the report, the pilots were chatting about the coronavirus and repeatedly ignored warnings from air traffic controllers before the plane went down in a residential area near the airport. Quiz of the Year, part four: Can you end 2020 on a high? They talked about the coronavirus and how their families were affected," Khan said, adding that the pilots were "overconfident. Only two passengers survived. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Firefighters spray water on the wreckage. All rights reserved. Pakistan’s aviation authorities have grounded 262 airline pilots whose flying licenses may be fake or falsified in a widening scandal following a fatal plane crash in Karachi last month. Lahore: Baaghi TV has received a list of 17 pilots associated with the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) who are having fake licenses. On Wednesday, the aviation minister also gave more details on the preliminary report into a PIA plane crash on 22 May. Richard Quest: This is the most extraordinary story in aviation, See Alaska Airlines' Covid-19 'Safety Dance', The Boeing 737 MAX is back in the air after fatal crashes, Millions travel for Thanksgiving despite Covid-19 surge, Emotional flight attendants say farewell after being furloughed, Delta CEO: Rapid testing is critical to avoid quarantines, Airline furloughs loom for thousands of workers, United Airlines Chair: What the airline industry is facing is dire, United, American and Delta drop change fees, American Airlines suspends service to 15 cities, Southwest Airlines CEO: We still don't have enough testing, Delta CEO: Our goal is to restore confidence in air travel, Why budget airlines could see big changes post pandemic, Here's how Boeing and Airbus became a duopoly. © 2020 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Abdullah Khan said the aviation ministry had issued a list identifying 262 pilots with fake/suspicious licenses, which also included 10 pilots associated with Serene Air and nine with Air Blue. Now he is accused of having a fake license he has never held or purported to hold. The current probe began in the aftermath of the crash of flight PK8303 in late May. In June 2020, the airline suspended licenses of the 141 pilots while it was carrying out an investigation into their validity. What were the findings on the recent crash? I Never Claimed To Have It! Pakistan's aviation authorities have been probing allegations of PIA pilots' fake qualifications since 2018, but not much is known about it. Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed this in the National Assembly. Members of the fire brigade work to put out a fire at the crash site. Pakistan International Airlines has grounded a third of its pilots over "dubious licenses." The engines scrubbed the runway, causing sparks and irreparable damage. The startling news about the ‘fake’ Pilots was released amid the presentation of the provisional inquiry report in the National Assembly of Pakistan about the recent Pakistan International Airline (PK) crash near Karachi. many foreigners say pia means ‘please inform allah’ post-a320-crash, pia set to ground pilots with fake licenses. Pakistan’s Aviation Division on Sunday produced a list of 262 PIA pilots who carried fake licenses, but the list was filled with errors and false information. PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately. ... Action against pilots holding fake licenses on the cards. They were not focused. "No-one was aware that the plane was about to crash; they were flying the plane in a smooth manner," he said. Fake licenses. An air traffic controller asks whether it is going to carry out a "belly landing", to which the pilot replies "mayday, mayday, mayday" - the final communication from the plane. PIA is grounding 150 pilots. The pilots proceeded with trying to land -- without lowering the landing gear. According to the sources of Baaghi TV, this is a list of PIA pilots who are likely to be on the list of pilots carrying fake and ‘dubious’ licences. On Wednesday, Mr Khan told parliament that the pilot and air traffic control failed to follow protocol. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has grounded 150 pilots over claims they may not hold a valid licence. Many say the airline, which once played a major role in the launch of one the top Middle Eastern airlines, Emirates, has subsequently gone down the same path to institutional decay as the rest of the country. Rescue workers recover the body of a victim from the plane's debris. On December 14, 2020, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) representative informed the country’s Supreme Court that the airline had cleared 110 pilots out of 141 in a fake pilots’ license scandal. A PIA spokesman confirmed to AFP news agency that the probe found about 150 of its 434 pilots had "either bogus or suspicious licences". The results of the investigation were announced Wednesday as part of a preliminary report into a plane crash that killed 97 people in the southern city of Karachi on May 22. Volunteers look for survivors amid the wreckage of a plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday, May 22. Baaghi TV has received names of pilots who can possibly be on the list of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots having fake licences. In recent years, there have been frequent allegations of drug trafficking and smuggling involving PIA staffers, but in most cases there haven't been visible reprisals. Read about our approach to external linking. Smoke is seen rising over the residential area where the plane went down. Investigations revealed that possibly hundreds of PIA pilots were either flying on fake licenses or had cheated in the training process. Following the 2018 crash, it was discovered that the test date on the pilot's licence was a public holiday, suggesting that testing could not have taken place on that day. The PIA A320 crashed into a residential area in Karachi after a failed landing attempt. Most stock quote data provided by BATS. "When the control tower asked him to increase the plane's height, the pilot said 'I'll manage'. Nearly a quarter of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots have been found not to hold valid licences. PIA has given no additional details about the alleged cheating. A man looks at a part of the plane's debris. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Pakistan plane crash was 'human error' - initial report, Pakistan plane crash survivor: 'All I could see was fire', Travel shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat. Of the total pilots listed there, 141 names are reportedly suspicious while 39 pilots others are not even a part of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) anymore. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices Copyright S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates. Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record with a number of crashes. Regulators have barred Pakistan International Airlines from the European Union for six months after the state-run carrier grounded nearly a third of its pilots for holding fake or dubious licences, officials said Tuesday. "PIA acknowledges that fake licenses is not just a PIA issue but spread across the entire Pakistani airline industry," spokesperson Abdullah Khan said, adding that some of the fake pilots … The names of the PIA pilot sisters were allegedly found in the fake license holders list. European officials are hammering out a joint response to stem the spread of a new Covid-19 variant. A person is comforted near the site of the crash. PIA is paying on an average Rs 15 million to pilot with fake licenses.. Mr Khan said investigations had found that more than 260 of the country's 860 active pilots had either fake licences or had cheated in their exams. Flight PK8303 came down on houses in Karachi. There was over-confidence," Mr Khan said. Pakistan plane crash was 'human error' - initial report, Covid: Flights shut down as EU discusses UK virus threat, Russian agent 'tricked into detailing Navalny assassination bid', Essex lorry deaths: Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants, Harrods mega-spender loses Supreme Court challenge, Brexit: Johnson resists calls to extend transition into 2021, Covid-19: More than 40 countries ban UK arrivals, Lockerbie bombing: Alleged bomb-maker charged on 32nd anniversary of attack, Covid: Regulator approves first vaccine for EU states, Christmas star: Jupiter and Saturn align in the night sky, 'All I could see was fire' - Pakistan plane survivor. "PIA acknowledges that fake licenses is not just a PIA issue but spread across the entire Pakistani airline industry," spokesperson Abdullah Khan said, adding that some of the fake pilots also fly for foreign carriers. newspakistan… The pilots pulled the plane back into the air, but the damaged engines failed and caused the plane to crash, according to the report. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has asked the Aviation Division to provide a list of all pilots having fake or suspicious licences. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. Disclaimer. A preliminary investigation into a deadly plane crash in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi has found that 30% of the country's civilian pilots have fake licenses. The move by PIA to ground the pilots comes a day after the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarqar Khan, said 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots had “fake” licenses. Agent 'tricked into detailing Navalny murder bid', Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants in lorry, The Belgian 'hero' who invaded UK fishing waters. Since 1965, PIA has suffered 10 major crashes and several minor incidents. Pakistani security officials secure the premises of Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, where crash victims were brought. He said that a full report on the crash would be released in a year's time and will include details from a recording taken during the descent. The case, which is being investigated by the country’s aviation authority, has reached Pakistan’s top court, revealing some of the airline’s pilots have not even completed high school. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to ground 150 of its pilots with dubious licenses. Inquiries have been held but they don't seem to have led to any improvements. Islamabad: The Pakistan government has cancelled the licences of 50 pilots for flying with fake credentials and authorities will probe how they obtained the certificates through unfair means, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has informed a top court here. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Sarwar’s statement dealt a fresh blow to PIA, already struggling for survival, as more than half of these pilots belong to it. As the plane was about to make a second landing, air traffic controllers failed to tell the pilot that the plane's engines had been left badly damaged. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc.2018. PIA Fake Pilot License? He said there was nothing wrong with the Airbus A320 aircraft, which had taken off from Lahore and was attempting to land in Karachi. pia’s a320 crashed due to human error: report. What happens to your body in extreme heat? … Over the years, both the PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority have come to be dominated by serving or retired officers of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), prompting some to call it the retirement home for the military. 50 more pilots’ licenses have been cancelled and the government ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to start criminal proceedings against them. The. ", According to Khan, the pilots were told three times by air traffic controllers that the plane was too high and they should not attempt to land, "but the captain did not pay any heed to these instructions.". Rescuers transport an injured person from the site of the crash. All times are ET. Some flights may be cancelled as a result, the airline said. LONDON – Pakistani Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan broke the shocking news that around 40% of Pilots in Pakistan have fake pilot licenses.. 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