Karachi:
It’s been five years since Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK-8303 crashed near Karachis Jinnah International Airport, claiming 97 lives, leaving violent stories of survival and loss.
On May 22, 2020, in the middle of Covid-19 restrictions, Flight PK-8303 started from Lahore for Karachi with 91 passengers and 8 crew members on board, many traveling home to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr. However, the plane never certainly made it its destination.
According to official conclusions, the aircraft tried to land at Jinnah Terminal but its landing equipment could not deploy. Both engines repeatedly scraped the runway during the first landing attempt, causing sparks to fly. Instead of performing a belly landing, the pilot chose a game, a decision that eventually turned out to be fatal.
In the last moments, the Captain issued a Mayday call. Cockpit recordings and Flight data revealed that the herd violated standard dismissal protocols near Nawabshah and Makli and maintained higher than advised height and speed during approach.
Airbus A320, weighing 80 tons, broke apart and crashing onto the densely populated Jinnah Garden housing area. The thunderous noise from collapsing metal, falling parts and outbreak fuel painted a scene with apocalypse.
One of the few survivors of the earth, Sohail Asghar, told the traumatic moments to the Express Pakinomist.
On the fateful Friday afternoon, shortly after offering Jumuah beans, he had just been sitting in his car parked outside his home to drive errands to Iftar.
The engine had hardly started and the door remained open when he heard an ominous roar, a grinding, growling sound as opposed to something he had ever heard. Panic and unable to understand what happened, Asghar threw himself on a small stain garden next to his house.
Seconds later, flaming metal shields, heavy aircraft parts and boiling jet fuel began to rain from the sky. “Everything was burning. The street was shrouded in thick, black smoke. My screams were probably drowned in the chaos,” he said.
Outside of him, two young neighbors had noticed Asghar moments before stepping out. When they heard the crash, they rushed through smoke and pulled him inside their homes.
Rescue officials were eventually warned and Asghar was moved to the hospital. He remained during treatment for almost eight months.
Even today, says Asghar, he has a hard time visiting that memory. He no longer lives in Jinnah Garden after moving after the trauma became unbearable.
