Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631
 A Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F-27 Friendship, similar to the one involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 8, 1972 (1972-12-08) |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Jalkot, Pakistan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fokker F-27 Friendship 600 |
| Operator | Pakistan International Airlines |
| Registration | AP-AUS |
| Flight origin | Gilgit Airport |
| Destination | Benazir Bhutto International Airport |
| Passengers | 22[1] or 28[2][3][4][5] |
| Crew | 4[1] or 5[2][3][4][5] |
| Fatalities | 26[1] or 32[2][3][4][5] |
| Survivors | 0[1][6] |
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight on 8 December 1972 operated by the Pakistan International Airlines that took off from Gilgit Airport in Gilgit, Pakistan, bound for Rawalpindi International Airport in Rawalpindi. The involved aircraft was a Fokker F-27. The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain killing all people on board.
The crash took place on the same day as Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708 and United Air Lines Flight 553.[6][5]
Flight, search and recovery
In the evening of 8 December 1972, the Pakistan International Airlines operated Fokker F-27 departed at 11:40am from Gilgit Airport in Gilgit, Pakistan bound for Rawalpindi International Airport in Rawalpindi where it was scheduled to arrive at 12:50pm.[2][7] There were rainy conditions during the flight. The aircraft lost radio contact halfway after 125 miles with Rawalpindi.[7]
After the aircraft didn't arrive during the evening of 8 December 1972, the airplane was reported missing by Pakistan International Airlines.[2][5] A search operation was started with two C-130 transports and two helicopters. They were not able to find the aircraft and stopped when visibility became low, with ground searching continuing.[7] There was hope the Fokker had made an emergency landing at Chilas,[7] but the wreck was found the next day on Saturday 9 December.[6] The aircraft had struck a snow-covered 9000 feet high mountain at the foot of the Himalayas near the village of Maidan around 8 miles south of Jalkot.[8][6] All people on board were killed.[1][6]
The bodies from the airplane were recovered by soldiers of the Pakistan Army.[8]
Aircraft
The involved aircraft was a Pakistan International Airlines owned Fokker F-27 Friendship 600 with registration number AP-AUS and MSN 10314. The aircraft had made its first flight on 2 December 1966 and had since made 11077 total airframe hours and 16720 cycles.[1]
Casualties
There is a difference between sources about the number of people onboard. Aviation Safety Networks lists 26 people (22 passengers and four crew members),[1] newspaper sources list 33 people (28 passengers and five crew members).[3][6][2][4][5] The News states it were at least 31 people.[9] There were no survivors.[1][6]
The five crew members consisted of two cockpit crew including captain Javedullah, two cabin crew and one air guard.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "ASN Aircraft accident Fokker F-27 Friendship 600 AP-AUS Maidan". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pakistaanse Fokker Friendship vermist" [Pakistani Fokker Friendship missing]. Trouw (in Dutch). 9 December 1972. Retrieved 12 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b c d "Pakistaanse Friendship vermist" [Pakistani Friendship Missing]. De Waarheid (in Dutch). 9 December 1972. Retrieved 12 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b c d "Friendship vermist" [Friendship missing]. Limburgs Dagblad (in Dutch). 9 December 1972. Retrieved 12 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b c d e f "Drie luchtrampen op één dag | Fokker Friendship in Pakistan spoorloos" [Three air disasters in one day | Fokker Friendship missing in Pakistan]. Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 9 December 1972. Retrieved 12 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Twee vliegrampen op één dag" [Two air disasters in one day]. De Waarheid (in Dutch). 11 December 1972. Retrieved 12 February 2024 – via Delpher.
- ^ a b c d e "From The Past Pages Of Dawn: 1972: Fifty Years Ago: PIA Fokker missing". Dawn. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ a b "History of PIA accidents". historyofpia.com. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "A timeline of plane crashes in Pakistan". The News. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
External links
- Image of a soldier recovering a body from the airplane
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- t
- e
Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan
- Korangi Creek Douglas DC-3 crash (December 1947)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17 (February 1966)(*)
- Indian Airlines hijacking (January 1971)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631 (December 1972)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 (March 1981)
- Indian Airlines Flight 405 (July 1984)
- Indian Airlines Flight 421 (August 1984)
- Pan Am Flight 73 (September 1986)
- Death of President Zia (August 1988)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404 (August 1989)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544 (May 1998)
- Pakistan Navy Breguet Atlantique shoot-down (August 1999)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 (July 2006)
- Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash (July 2009)
- Airblue Flight 202 (July 2010)
- JS Air Flight 201 (November 2010)
- Sun Way Flight 4412 (November 2010)
- Bhoja Air Flight 213 (April 2012)
- Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash (May 2015)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 (December 2016)
- Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 (May 2020)
- Pakistan Army helicopter incident (August 2022)
(*) in East Pakistan, now the independent country of Bangladesh
