Planes come under tight scrutiny in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s civil aviation authorities have started grounding planes reaching the country from different parts of the world in an effort to enforce strict technical checking procedures, after a Russian cargo aircraft crashed in Karachi Sunday.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said orders to make all Russian aircraft undergo strict checks were issued after the crash Sunday and “no aircraft will be granted clearance to fly if it does not fulfill the requisite criteria”, Dunya TV reported Tuesday.

At least three Russian cargo aircraft reaching Pakistan have been made to undergo thorough checks Tuesday. “Two of these aircraft were grounded because they were not found fit to fly, while one aircraft was sent back after it refused to allow technical checking,” the channel said citing CAA officials.

CAA spokesman Pervez George said checking manuals have been enforced in letter and spirit. “We’ll not allow any aircraft to operate without complying with the given guidelines in order to avoid any untoward incident,” he said.

At least 11 people were killed when the IL-76 Russian cargo plane crashed at an under-construction site in Karachi in the early hours of Sunday. All eight crew members and three labourers sleeping in the building died in the crash that was reportedly caused after the engine caught fire.