Fake Licence Scam in Pakistan International Airlines

On May 22, 2020, an Airbus A320 of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), on a scheduled domestic flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, ended up in an unmitigated disaster. After the first attempt at approach and landing at Karachi airport failed, the pilot could not make another attempt at landing as the aircraft lost power on both engines on account of which, the airliner crashed in a densely populated residential area near the airfield. The airliner had 91 passengers and eight crew members on board of which only two passengers survived, but with serious injuries. One of the two survivors perished later on owing to the gravity of the injuries that he had sustained in the accident. Apart from these, eight persons on the ground also suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sajjad Gul with Usman Azam as the Co-Pilot.

Investigation into the accident carried out by Pakistan’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) revealed that during the first approach for landing, the landing gear was not extended as it should have been for landing. As a result, the aircraft touched down on the runway on its belly with the bottom surface of the two engines making contact with the runway. Friction marks on the surface of the runway were clear indication that both the engines had scraped the runway for a few hundred metres. Realising his mistake, the pilot opened power to get airborne again with the intention of making a second attempt at landing with the landing gear extended.

As per the investigating authority, both engines had suffered internal damage due to contact with the surface of the runway during landing which led to failure of both engines after going round and climbing to circuit height. With loss of power on both engines, the pilot was unable to maintain height and nose-dived out of control and crashed outside the airfield in a densely populated area. Findings by the investigating agency were also supported by the conversation between the commander of the illfated airliner and the air traffic controller on duty.

On the question of serviceability of the aircraft, engineers of PIA told the investigating authority that the last routine maintenance check on the aircraft had been conducted on March 21, 2020 and a more comprehensive check was carried out earlier on October 19, 2019. In these two inspections, no defects were found in the engines, the landing gear or the on-board avionics. The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan had declared the aircraft fit for flight till November 05, 2020. In the first three weeks of May 2020, the aircraft had successfully undertaken six passenger flights. All evidence in this case was pointing towards lack of professional capability on the part of the pilot. Apart from the loss of lives, this accident literally opened a “Pandora’s Box” with regard to the integrity of the process of granting civil flying licence to pilots in Pakistan. The most disturbing fact that came to light was that a large number of pilots in the PIA were holding civil flying licences that were fake.

While addressing the Pakistan’s National Assembly, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the Minister of Civil Aviation in Pakistan stated, “Out of the 860 civil pilots in Pakistan, 262 had not appeared for the civil licence exam themselves, but had arranged to have someone else write the exam on their behalf. Thus, around 30 per cent of pilots in Pakistan have fake flying licenses”. In September this year, three officials of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority have been sacked for their alleged involvement in the fake flying licence scandal in the country’s national carrier and there may more sackings in the future. After admission by Pakistan about the issue of fake civil flying licence, several countries including Vietnam, Qatar, Oman, Emirates and Kuwait grounded not only Pakistani pilots flying with their airlines, but some of these countries have sacked even engineers and ground handling staff hailing from Pakistan. Aviation regulators in the United States and the European Union have also banned PIA from operating flights to their airports.

Surprisingly, a month after the Minister of Civil Aviation had stated that 30 per cent of flying licences issued were fake, Pakistan’s civil aviation authority did an about turn and claimed that licenses issued to commercial airline transport pilots so far, were genuine. In the ensuing chaos, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations, has finally stepped in and has advised Pakistan to take corrective measures immediately and suspend the issuance of any new pilot licenses in the wake of the scandal.