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Pakistan’s airline PIA is under hot waters since the recent aircraft crash that took place in Karachi. The public is calling them out on their irresponsible stance and negligence here and then. Hence, may it be under pressure or due to actual consideration PIA has finally suspended 150 pilot licenses. However, when the list hit social media, some shocking revelations were made.   PIA Pilot Sisters – An example of bravery or deceit? A few years back, we heard about the two brave sisters Maryam Massoud and Erum Massoud who have cleared the pilot exams and flew the Boeing-777 aircraft. The news took social media by a storm and we were extremely proud to see such change in mindsets and the growth of women empowerment in the right direction. However, a recent revelation is leaving us both in shock and despair knowing how blinded one can be.         Just after the gruesome and heartbreaking aircraft crash in Karachi on May 22nd, 2020 PIA is suspending about 150 pilots. The reason is that these pilots acquired their licenses by cheating on their tests. What broke our hearts was that both Erum Massoud and Maryam Massoud were part of the list forwarded by PIA, post-suspension of their pilots.   Pilot Sisters must be penalized! Not only is the news shocking, but it also makes one feel anger and hurtful. Is human life of no value to these pilots. These are the same pilots who are flying and operating the vehicle, they are responsible for all the crew, in fact, all those aboard the plane. How could they simply consider something like that of no importance? Moreover, even if we for a second forego, that they cheated on the test. The second question in our mind is if these sisters will still be flying airplanes on other airlines. And if a mere suspension is enough a punishment.  As soon as the news became viral, people have been both hurt and disheartened to learn the truth.   In retrospect, this is one of the reasons why patriarchy prevails and women empowerment is seen as a bad thing. These pilots need to be investigated and their commercial flying licenses should be checked.   It is indeed saddening to see how people are not going to accept their mistakes, and how no action is taken until or unless a bad aspect of it comes out. God knows how long people would have still traveled on the same airplane flown by these or other such fake pilots without knowing the risk their life was involved in. All we can do is pray to Allah to bless all and keep us protected from such fallacy oriented people. What do you think of the story? Tell us in the comments section below.

Vietnam’s civil aviation authority has grounded all Pakistani pilots flying for Vietnamese airlines, as global aviation regulators answer to revelations by Pakistani authorities final week that much more than 250 pilots had been granted licences fraudulently. Pakistan’s aviation minister stated past 7 days that 262 of the country’s 860 active pilots had obtained their qualifications fraudulently by having a person else acquire their examinations, administered by the Pakistani civil aviation regulator. On Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) issued a assertion saying it had instructed all domestic airlines to quickly suspend pilots granted licences by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA). “Vietnamese airways [have been] requested [to] temporarily suspend flight schedules for the higher than pilots until even more discover,” explained the statement. There are presently 27 Pakistani pilots registered to fly for Vietnamese airlines, 12 of whom are lively, the CAAV mentioned. Eleven of individuals pilots fly for Vietjet Air, and just one for Jetstar Pacific. A more 15 pilots are registered but no lengthier hold contracts with Vietnamese airlines. A majority of the suspended 262 Pakistani pilots flew for the country’s state-owned Pakistan Global Airways (PIA), which mentioned its functions would be “crippled” by the move. Vietnamese authorities said they would coordinate with Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority to confirm and overview the 27 pilots’ qualifications. A Vietjet Air Airbus A320 lands at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam [File: EPA] Pilots’ body disputes report Adhering to the revelations by Pakistani Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan in parliament last 7 days, the Intercontinental Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a multilateral UN overall body that coordinates among aviation regulators, said nations would have to consider the basic safety threats introduced.   “Any global implications of this growth will be subject to every single country’s particular person assessment of the protection hazards it offers,” said a statement emailed to Al Jazeera. “Countries are sovereign in this sort of issues.” The Pakistan Air Line Pilots Association (PALPA), a entire body that signifies pilots across Pakistan, has disputed some of the conclusions of the aviation ministry’s inquiry, professing that the listing of 262 pilots incorporates some who experienced not fully commited fraud. A authorities investigation into the authenticity of the pilots’ licences carries on, pending which all pilots have been suspended from flying for Pakistani domestic airlines. The original inquiry was spurred by an investigation into an airliner incident in November 2018, when a PIA-operated Embraer ATR-72 plane skidded off the runway in the southwestern city of Panjgur. No 1 was hurt in the incident, but a subsequent inquiry discovered the pilot’s licence had been issued on a community holiday. Additional investigations led to 17 Pakistani pilots being suspended in January 2019, suspected of committing fraud. On June 25, the aviation minister discovered that a extended investigation experienced observed that nearly a 3rd of all pilots certified by the country’s civil aviation authority experienced acquired their documents fraudulently, primarily by utilizing another person else to sit for their exams. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera’s digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended Pakistan International Airline’s air operations permit for a period of six months, the national carrier’s spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said on Tuesday. The move follows the grounding of 262 pilots whose licences Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed “dubious”. “EASA has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020, with the right to appeal against this decision,” a PIA statement said. The PIA also added that it will temporarily discontinue all its flight operations to Europe. The decision was taken after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed the licence of 262 pilots ‘dubious’.      As per updates from the airline, passengers booked tickets on PIA flights to European destinations can either extend their bookings to a later date or will have the option to get full refund. All passengers booked on its flights to European destinations will have the option to either extend their bookings to a later date or get a full refund. “PIA is in contact with EASA to allay their concerns and to take necessary corrective measures along with filing the appeal against the decision,” the press release said. The national flag carrier “sincerely hopes that with reparative and swift actions taken by the Government of Pakistan and PIA management, earliest possible lifting of this suspension can be expected”, it added.

Japanese investigators believe biocide treatment of fuel on a Jetstar Airways Boeing 787-8 led to the aircraft’s losing thrust in both engines during a service to Osaka’s Kansai airport two days later. The aircraft (VH-VKJ) had departed Cairns on 29 March last year. As it descended through 16,100ft (4,900m) towards Kansai, the crew started to receive instability indications from the right-hand General Electric GEnx-1B engine. These were followed by a failure message for the left-hand engine a few minutes later, at about 11,800ft (3,600m), and then a similar failure message for the right-hand engine. Both messages subsequently disappeared. But the aircraft systems recorded that the left engine had been operating below idle thrust for 8s and the right engine for 81s.   Engine indications received by the 787 crew as the aircraft descended to Osaka Kansai     As a result of the right engine’s unstable performance, the crew disengaged the right-hand autothrottle and set the right-hand thrust lever to ‘idle’. The jet landed safely at Kansai about 20min later, and none of the 313 occupants was injured. Japan Transport Safety Board investigators found that an accumulation of magnesium salts had impeded the movement of spools within the engines, destabilising the fuel metering and leading to engine speed oscillations sufficient to dip temporarily below idle. Similar oscillations – not large enough to be detected – had been occurring on the aircraft since it underwent biocide treatment at Auckland two days before the incident. The biocide was introduced by uplifting 25,000kg of fuel to the centre tank, plus 4,000kg to the left wing tank and 3,500kg to the right wing tank. Owing to differing quantities of residual fuel already present in each wing tank, the concentration of biocide for this additionally-uplifted fuel had to be individually calculated in order to achieve the 100ppm required. The inquiry says a concentration of 250ppm was needed for the left tank and 285ppm for the right. But it says there was “no record” of the actual calculation made, or the dosage used, during the treatment. “It is desirable to keep these records because they are considered to be important for traceability of maintenance work,” it points out. The investigators also believe that the added fuel, with the higher biocide concentrations, “did not mix evenly” with the residual fuel in the tanks before being fed to the engines. This failure to achieve even distribution could have been influenced by fuel temperature and density, as well as the interior structure of the tanks, but the inquiry could not determine how much of the fuel was not mixed. All three fuel tanks were treated with Kathon FP 1.5, a biocide which has since been withdrawn from aviation use following other engine thrust incidents.