Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-661 had sent out a distress signal soon after taking off from the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A source at the Chitral airport informed Daily Times on the condition of anonymity that soon after leaving for Islamabad, PK-661 sent a message to the control room that the left engine of the plane had developed some fault and it was going to shut down. “I am unable to understand why it did not return to Chitral or reroute to Peshawar, which is only 28 minutes away from Chitral,” the source added. The source added that the message regarding the engine fault turned out to be the last communication between the plane and the control room.

A Pakistan Army officer in Chitral, who frequently uses the same flight to go to Islamabad, told this scribe on the condition of anonymity that the plane would take four trips between Chitral and Islamabad on a regular day. “There are usually two flying days. As usual, this plane initiated its journey from Islamabad to Chitral at 11:30am. Then took off for Peshawar at 12:45pm before returning at around 3pm in the afternoon,” he said.

However, the source at the Chitral airport claimed that unlike the routine, the flight circled three times in the air before landing at the small strip. “Normally it lands directly, as the airport is located in a difficult area. However, it unusually circled around the airport before landing,” he said.

He added that the plane departed for Islamabad at 1550 hrs.

The Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de Transport Régional (ATR) plane operated by the PIA between Islamabad and Chitral has a capacity of 46 passengers and four crew members. “There are 30 seats in the economy and 16 in business class. The cabin crew consist of a captain and a co-captain and two airhostesses,” added the Pak Army officer. Eyewitnesses at the site of the crash reported that they rushed to the place in the mountains near Havelian and saw the pieces of the plane in flames, scattered all over the area. Sources at the Ayub Medical College (AMC) said that at least 26 bodies were brought to the hospital in ambulances.