Pilot jailed over botched landing incident

A Pakistani anti-terrorism unit in Lahore on Friday sent to jail on 14-day judicial remand a private airline pilot, who is under investigation over a botched landing of a Boeing 737, allegedly because he was drunk, according to local media reports.

Captain Asmat Mahmood was taken into custody by police after a medical report stated he was drunk while flying the plane that skidded off the runway during the landing at the Lahore airport earlier this month.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, but the plane belonging to Shaheen Airline reportedly was severely damaged.

The accused pilot was brought to the court in Lahore on Friday after the expiry of his eight-day physical remand in police custody.

The pilot has rejected the medical report, denying that he had consumed alcohol during or before the flight, adding that he was being framed.

Faulty landing gear

The pilot claims that the accident happened because the tyre burst, and that he managed to land the aircraft safely despite faulty landing gear.

During the hearing on Friday, the pilot’s lawyer argued that terrorism charges should be removed from the case registered against his client.

The lawyer pleaded that terrorism charges cannot be applied on the defendant merely because of an emergency landing.

The court rejected the plea.

A spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority reportedly said that the medical reports confirmed that the pilot had consumed alcohol before the flight.