PIA plane escapes being hit by mysterious drone

KARACHI: A drone was sighted hovering over a Sukkur-bound commercial aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) only minutes after it took off from the Karachi airport on Friday.

Sources said the PIA flight PK-536, an ATR aircraft, was at an altitude of 4,300 feet when the drone emerged 100 feet above it for a brief period at 5.27pm. They said the drone was a three-foot dark purple object. It was also seen on the radar screen of the air traffic control that immediately communicated the information to the Pakistan Air Force as per the standard operating procedure.

A PIA spokesperson confirmed the incident and said the pilot of PK-536 witnessed the drone at a very close distance. He said the plane landed at Sukkur safely and returned to Karachi the same evening as per schedule.

He said the incident had been reported to the Civil Aviation Authority and other authorities concerned but so far the PIA was not communicated anything about it.

In December, Britain’s second-busiest airport, Gatwick, was forced to close its only runway repeatedly due to the drone sightings. Thousands of people remained stranded at the airport as over 1,000 flights were cancelled or delayed. Arriving flights were diverted to other airports around the UK or even as far afield as Paris and Amsterdam.

Comments

Sarfraz apologises for 'black guy' comment

"My words were not directed towards anyone in particular and I certainly had no intention of upsetting anyone," says Sarfraz Ahmed. Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed apologised on Wednesday following a controversial comment aimed at South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo which was picked up by a stump microphone during the second one-day international in Durban on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the 37th over of South Africa’s run-chase during the game at Kingsmead when Phehlukwayo got an inside edge off a Shaheen Shah Afridi delivery that narrowly missed the stumps. As Phehlukwayo, who was on 50 at the time, ran to the non-striker’s end, Sarfraz was heard on the stump microphone saying in Urdu: "Abey kaale, teri ammi aaj kahaan baitheen hain? Kya parwa ke aaye hai aaj?" When translated into English that means: "Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?" The skipper tweeted...

Two youths killed by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir

Indian government has deployed forces across occupied Kashmir as residents observe Black Day. Indian troops killed two Kashmiri youths in the Khonmoh area of Srinagar, Kashmir Media Service (KMS) said on Saturday. Clashes between Indian police and residents of the area erupted in the aftermath of the killings, when Indian police used force to disperse demonstrators who had come out on the streets to protest. The killings took place on India's Republic Day, which is observed as Black Day by residents of Indian-occupied Kashmir and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The call to observe India's Republic Day as Black Day was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), that is led by Syed Ali Gillani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, the KMS said. The JRL leaders said in a statement that India had "no justification" to observe Republic Day in held Kashmir as the territory had been "illegally occupied" against the wishes of Kashmiri ...

I used my heart and head while making Paray Hut Love, shares filmmaker Asim Raza

He opens up about his upcoming flick and how he's tried to stay true to his vision while making a film with mass appeal Director Asim Raza is meticulous to the core — and I speak from first-hand experience. Given exclusive access to the sets of his upcoming movie Paray Hut Love (PHL), I sat with him while he scrutinised a monitor linked directly to the recording cameras. It was a dusty, cold day in Karachi’s Commune Artist Colony and the entire crew wore face masks to ward away the grime suspended in the air. To no avail. Asim’s allergies had gotten aggravated and he coughed sporadically, in between takes but never during filming. That’s Asim Raza for you; when the camera is rolling, he’ll just swallow down his cough, no matter how terrible it is. Gazing at the screen, he asked for a retake. “Saife’s head needs to tilt a bit more towards Sheheryar,” he had observed. Actor and director Saife Hassan was shooting with him on th...

Articles

Search This Blog