RAWALPINDI: On Monday, a Boeing 777 operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that had to make an emergency landing at Muscat International Airport thirteen days prior owing to an engine failure, returned home after a new engine was installed.
An engine taken out of another Boeing 777 aircraft that was grounded at Jinnah International Airport was used to replace the original one.
On March 10, the engine was transported on a C-130 cargo plane to Muscat.
At 35,000 feet, one of the engines on Flight PK-714, which was transporting 392 passengers from Madina to Islamabad, abruptly stalled and failed, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at the Muscat airport.
The airplane, carrying 357 passengers and 35 staff members, departed Madina one hour and fifty minutes after it had taken off. Once the pilot reached 35,000 feet, there appeared to be an issue with the engine.
The aircraft’s left engine, or engine number 1, abruptly failed while it was over Muscat. The closest airport was in Muscat, therefore the cockpit crew chose to land there.
The airplane made a safe landing in Muscat at 10.21 p.m. with one engine running after obtaining permission to do so.
After being offloaded, the passengers were directed to the airport lounge.
A group of engineers from Pakistan was dispatched to Muscat shortly after the jet touched down to have the engine fixed. However, upon closer inspection, they found that the engine was damaged, most likely as a result of being struck by an outside item. As a result, the engineers chose to ground the aircraft.
The passengers who were left stranded at the airport in Muscat were later picked up by a relief flight. Following the engine replacement, the PIA aircraft departed for Karachi.
