At least 97 people have been killed after an Airbus A320 passenger airliner crashed into a residential neighbourhood while on approach to the airport in Karachi.
Only two male passengers of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK8303 from Lahore to Karachi survived the crash that wasn’t the first in Pakistan’s history, and, unfortunately, might not be the last.
The country has a chequered aviation safety record, and here is a timeline of the air crash tragedies that shook Pakistan.
May 20, 1965
PIA Boeing 707 crashes during inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 passengers.
August 6, 1970
PIA Fokker F27 aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing 30 on board.
December 8, 1972
Another PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, leaving all 26 passengers dead.
November 26, 1979
A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.
October 23, 1986
PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Peshawar, leaving 13 out of 54 passengers dead.
August 25, 1989
Another PIA Fokker crashes in Gilgit with 54 people on board. The wreckage was never found.
September 28, 1992
A PIA Airbus A300 crashes while approaching Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.
July 10, 2006
PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Multan shortly after take off, killing 45 people.
July 28, 2010
Airblue Airbus 321 from Karachi crashes in Margalla Hills outside Islamabad, leaving all 152 passengers dead.
April 20, 2012
A Bhoja Air Airbus 737 from Karachi crashes in Islamabad due to bad weather, killing all 127 passengers.
December 7, 2016
PIA ATR-42 aircraft flying from Chitral to Islamabad, crashes near Abbottabad. 48 people died in the incident, including singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed.
Friday’s tragic episode was the first commercial airliner crash since 2016. There have, however, been a number of chartered and military jet crashes.
