Crash: PIA AT42 near Havelian on Dec 7th 2016, engine failure
By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Dec 7th 2016 12:18Z, last
updated Wednesday, Dec 7th 2016 18:40Z
A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Avions de Transport Regional ATR-42-500, registration AP-BHO performing flight PK-661 from Chitral to Islamabad (Pakistan) with 42 passengers and 6 crew, reported the failure of the left hand engine (PW127E). The crew shut the engine down and continued towards Islamabad descending, some time later declared Mayday, shortly afterwards radio and radar contact was lost with the aircraft at about 16:30L (11:30Z). Residents in Havelian near Abbottabad (Pakistan) heard sounds consistent with an impact. The crash site was located at that position about 25nm north of Islamabad, the wreckage was ablaze with a plume of smoke over the crash site. All occupants of the aircraft perished in the crash.
The airline reported contact with flight PK-661 has been lost, all resources have been mobilized to locate the aircraft. The airline reported there were 42 passengers (including 2 infants, 2 Austrian and 1 Chinese Citizen), 3 flight crew, 2 cabin crew and a mechanics on board of the aircraft.
In the evening the airline confirmed that AP-BHO had crashed near Havelian.
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed the aircraft declared emergency reporting engine trouble shortly before it disappeared from radar screens. Later the day the CAA reported that there had been no survivors, 36 bodies were recovered so far.
The Aviation Herald received information - contradicting a number of media reports in Pakistan - that the aircraft departed Chitral without any mechanical defect, no minimum equipment list requirements were in effect.
The blackboxes have been recovered and have been handed to Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority.