On 20th August, two Airbus A320s nearly collided at Karachi International Airport in Pakistan. One of the A320s was on short final whereas, the other one was cleared to take off from the same runway.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus A320 with registration AP-BLW was on a short final to land on runway 25L. It was operating PIA flight PK351 from Peshawar to Karachi.
Simultaneously, the AirSial Airbus A320 with registration AP-BOA was cleared for takeoff by the ATC tower. It was scheduled to depart Karachi as flight PF123 to Islamabad. The flight PF123 was also cleared to take off on the same runway 25L.
The PIA flight PK351 was reportedly within a kilometre of runway 25L, when the AirSial flight PF123 began its takeoff roll, after receiving clearance from the ATC. The PIA flight landed at 13:14 local time whereas the AirSial flight took up from the same runway a moment later at 13:15.
ATC Inattention
Karachi’s Air Traffic Control is being blamed for the near collision incident. On the other hand, the ATC claimed that the PIA pilots did not follow the instruction to go around. The ATC told that it instructed the PIA flight to go around. However, the pilots did not follow the instruction and landed without clearance, as reported by the ATC.
After the occurrence of this unusual event, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) began a thorough investigation into the incident. According to the PCAA spokesperson, the responsible parties would be held accountable for the incident.
Feature Image: Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons