PIA flight lands in Lahore with one wheel missing

KARACHI: A PIA flight avoided a major accident after it landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport with a wheel missing on Thursday, ARY News reported.

Sources revealed that one of the rear tires of PK-306 flight was found missing during post-flight inspection.

Lahore Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed Karachi Airport where a part of the tire shaft was discovered.

However, authorities are yet to locate the missing tire either at Karachi or Lahore airport.

Following the incident, a team from PIA arrived in Lahore to probe the landing of the flight with one wheel missing.

Read more: PIA ‘set’ to resume direct flights to US

According to initial reports, the PIA flight had all its tires intact during takeoff from Karachi, however, the plane made a normal landing with one wheel missing at Lahore Airport.

Some missing parts were found on Karachi Airport’s runway, but the one wheel missing remains the unsolved mystery so far.

PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan stated that the PIA flight landed safely in Lahore despite the missing wheel.

He added that the airline’s Flight Safety Department and the Civil Aviation Authority have launched investigations under aviation regulations.

Preliminary observations suggest that the wheel may have been damaged due to Foreign Object Debris (FOD) on Karachi’s runway. The aircraft’s design allowed for a smooth and safe landing despite the missing wheel.

The news come as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is gearing up for the revival of the direct flights to the United States (US).

As per details, hopes for direct flights revival to the US by PIA as a delegation from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is scheduled to visit Pakistan in mid-March for a final clearance inspection.