Lahore crash-landing: Shaheen Air pilot arrested from Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Authorities have arrested the pilot in command of a Shaheen Air International plane that skidded off the runway earlier this month after medical reports confirmed that he was intoxicated while flying the passenger aircraft.

Sources told Geo News that Punjab police arrested Captain Asmat Mehmood, who was flying the NL-142 Karachi to Lahore flight with an unacceptable level of blood alcohol, from his residence in Karachi on Saturday night.

Punjab police has registered a case against the pilot at the Sarwar Road police station in Lahore on the request of the Civial Aviation Authority (CAA).

The Boeing 737 carrying more than 121 passengers was landing on November 3 when one of its tyres burst causing it to skid off the airstrip and stop about 1,000 feet short from the end into a grassy patch 70 feet west of the runway at the Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP) in Lahore.

Nobody was hurt in the accident, but the plane suffered serious damage in what could have resulted in a major disaster.

Pervez George, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said that "the medical investigation reports of cockpit crew just after the incident revealed that the pilot in command had an unacceptable level of blood alcohol".

The tests also showed the pilot was fatigued, George added.

CAA head Amjad Ali Toor said he had told local airlines "to strictly ensure that their pilots maintain highest levels of aviation standards and refrain from flying under the influence of alcohol".

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilot was jailed for nine months in Britain in November 2013 for being drunk before he was due to fly a plane with 156 people on board.