The fatal crash of a Pakistan International Airlines ATR 42-500 aircraft operating flight PK661 on 7 December is the company’s tenth total aircraft loss since 2000.
In the 16 years prior to this accident, in which 47 passengers and crew were lost, lost aircraft included four widebody jets, one Boeing 737 aircraft, and three turboprops, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.
Only one of the total losses resulted in fatalities. On 10 July 2006, a Fokker F-27 operating flight PIA668 crashed shortly after taking off from Multan on a flight to Lahore, killing 41 passengers and four crew.
During the takeoff roll, the crew of the aircraft (AP-BAL) noticed a power loss in the right engine and veered right. After regaining directional control they proceeded to takeoff. As the aircraft lifted off, the right engine failed entirely and auto feathered.
The crew, with just one engine, climbed out too steeply and neglected to raise the undercarriage. The aircraft achieved a maximum attitude of 160ft, stalling 45 seconds after lift-off, and crashing 2km from the runway.
An investigation found that the engine failure resulted from shoddy maintenance in its previous overhaul. This resulted in a high pressure turbine failure caused by a failure to centre the bearing assembly.
An official report into the crash added that the crew demonstrated 'a lack professionalism, a poor display of airmanship and extremely poor emergency handling'. It noted several failings, namely not aborting the takeoff, not announcing an emergency, not maintaining directional control, and failing to retract the undercarriage.
PIA’s other eight total losses resulted in no injuries or fatalities. Since 2000, four aircraft were written off after landing accidents: one Airbus A300, one Boeing 737-300, an ATR 42-500, and an F-27.
Two other aircraft, an F-27 and an A300, were written off after takeoff problems. The F-27 suffered a power loss during takeoff that resulted in loss of control, while the A300 suffered a landing gear collapse.
The other three losses occurred to aircraft that were not operating flights. An F-27 destroyed by bad weather in August 2006. The other two aircraft, an A310 and a 747-300, were in storage at Karachi when they were irreparably damaged by a terrorist attack at Karachi International Airport on 8 June 2014.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
