Pakistan jet hit runway and took off again before crashing

Pilots told air-traffic control during second attempt to land that they had lost the plane's engines

Police spray water on part of PIA flight PK 8303 in Karachi. AFP

Pakistani security officials stand guard a day after a passenger plane of state run Pakistan International Airlines crashed in a residential area, in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

A Pakistani security official stands guard a day after a passenger plane of state run Pakistan International Airlines crashed in a residential area, in Karachi. EPA

Heavy machinery gather at the scene of a Pakistan International Airlines crash the day after it occurred in a residential area, in Karachi. EPA

A firefighter sprays water on the wreckage of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed in a residential area in Karachi. AFP

Rescue workers spray water on part of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed in a residential area in Karachi. AFP

Rescue workers move a body from the site. AFP

An ambulance arrives at the crash site of PIA flight PK 8303. EPA

Rescue workers gather at the site after a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi. AFP

Rescue workers gather at the site after a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi on May 22, 2020. AFP

Rescue workers and people gather near the site of the crash. AFP

It was supposed to be another regular flight on one of Pakistan’s busiest domestic routes between its two biggest cities.

State-run Pakistan International Airlines Corp’s Flight PK8303 had a normal departure from the eastern city of Lahore. Close to landing before 2.45pm local time, the pilots told passengers to fasten their seat belts as it approached Karachi’s airport in a flight that usually takes under two hours.

Everything was fine – until the last few seconds.

The plane began its descent. Instead of gliding on to the runway, it hit the ground a few times – for about 20 to 30 seconds – before the pilots pulled the plane back up into the air again. It reached an altitude of 3,175 feet about two minutes later, based on data by the FlightRadar24 website that tracks aircraft.

The pilots added power and lifted off again, a manoeuvre known as a go-around. Although a witness estimated it was aloft for 10 to 15 minutes longer, FlightRadar24 data indicates it was nearing the ground 5-and-a-half minutes later.

It is during this time that the pilots announced a second attempt to land. Calls for help were heard at the airport control tower.

“Sir, we have lost engines,” the pilot said to a controller, according to a recording from LiveATC.net, which collects audio feed from air-traffic control. About 30 seconds later, the pilot again radioed a distress call: “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday.”

On the last recorded position captured by a FlightRadar24 ground station, the Airbus A320 jet was at an altitude of about 500 feet and descending.

The plane, carrying 99 people, eventually smashed through rooftops of houses before crashing into a narrow lane of a residential area miles away from the airport.

“After the crash, there was fire everywhere. You could not see anyone,” said Muhammad Zubair, a survivor from the crash in which 97 people died. “I opened my seat belt, and headed towards the light.”

Mr Zubair recounted the final moments before the accident to a local television channel. He was seated in the eighth row while the only other survivor, Zafar Masud – president of the Bank of Punjab – was seated in the first row, various local news outlets said.

Rescue workers entered the homes, recovered bodies from rooftops and the crash site as smoke gathered in the area. Some of the bodies had oxygen masks on, indicating that an emergency had been declared while the plane was in the air, according to rescue agency Edhi, Pakistan’s largest ambulance service.

Edhi was alerted by eyewitnesses, and said more people may have survived if it received the call to be on standby the minute the aircraft reported a problem, a practice that was followed in the past.

“We were confused when people from the area called us,” Ahmed Edhi, a spokesman for the rescue agency, said by phone. “If they told us beforehand, many of our ambulances would have reached close to the airport before the crash.”

Some of the bodies have still not been identified, more than a day after the crash.