On 7
December 2016, Pakistan International
Airlines Flight 661, a
domestic passenger flight from Chitral to Islamabad, Pakistan, operated by an ATR 42-500 twin-turboprop, crashed near Havelian. All 47 people on board died,
including singer-turned-preacher and entrepreneur Junaid Jamshed, and the Deputy Commissioner of the District of ChitralThe aircraft involved in the accident was an ATR 42-500, serial number 663, registration AP-BHO, delivered to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 2007.[7] In
2009, the aircraft was damaged during a landing attempt at Lahore, but was
subsequently repaired and returned to service.[8] It
sustained an engine failure in 2014, but the engine was replaced and no further
problems were reported.[9] By
the time of the crash, it had recorded more than 18,700 flight hours since
joining PIA's fleet and had last undergone certification in October 2016.[10]The aircraft left Chitral Airport at 3:30 PST and was expected to land at Benazir Bhutto International
Airport,
Islamabad at around 4:40. Before the crash, the crew issued a mayday call. The
aircraft crashed at about 4:15 leaving wreckage ablaze on the side of a hill
between the villages of Saddha Batolni and Gug, near the Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province about 90 kilometres
(56 mi) from the airport. The wreckage was reported to be strewn over an
area about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) across. According to an eyewitness,
Mohammad Haroon, the aircraft flew at a very low altitude and made a
high-pitched noise, flying in an erratic, up-and-down mode before crashing into
the hillside. "There was a huge bang after the plane hit the mountainside
and caught fire".
Announcements
were broadcast by local mosques to mobilise villagers, who rushed to the site
to look for survivors but were unable to get close due to the heat of the fire. Pakistan Army personnel
and helicopters were also sent to the area for search and rescue operations.
Taj Muhammad Khan, a government official, stated that all the bodies were
burned beyond recognition. The remains were taken by air to forensic
laboratories in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for
DNA testing to aid identification.
This
was the seventh aircraft accident resulting in hull loss sustained
by PIA since 2000. Of the previous six, one resulted in fatalities; that of PIA Flight 688 in
2006, in which 45 people died
.
AP-BHO, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 2011
| |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 December 2016 |
| Summary | Engine failure, propeller blade dislodged, under investigation |
| Site | Near Havelian, Pakistan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | ATR 42-500 |
| Aircraft name | Hasanabdal |
| Operator | Pakistan International Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | PK661 |
| ICAO flight No. | PIA661 |
| Call sign | Pakistan 661 |
| Registration | AP-BHO |
| Flight origin | Chitral Airport, Chitral, Pakistan |
| Destination | Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Occupants | 47 |
| Passengers | 42 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 47 |
| Survivors | 0 |
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