Pak pilot arrested for flying plane in inebriated state
Lahore, November 15
A Pakistani pilot has been arrested for allegedly flying an aircraft with 121 passengers on-board under the influence of liquor and resulting in minor injuries to seven people while landing the plane at Lahore airport, an official said today.
The passengers suffered minor injuries when the Shaheen Airlines flight NL-142 skidded off the runway and its tyres burst as it made a landing at the airport on November 3.
The aircraft of the Pakistani private airlines carrying 121 passengers including seven crew members was coming from Karachi.
"Pilot Asmat Mahmood of NL-142 has been arrested after the inquiry committee found him flying the plane under the influence of liquor," Civil Aviation Authority's spokesman Pervez George told PTI.
"The medical investigation reports of cockpit crew of Shaheen Air International flight NL-142 just after the incident revealed that the pilot in command had unacceptable level of blood alcohol and lactate. The lactate indicates that the pilot was fatigued and had been drinking alcohol," George said.
The level of blood alcohol was 83 mg per deciliter, more than double of the permissible amount. It led the pilot towards errors of judgment, he said.
A case has been registered against the pilot under different clauses of Pakistan Penal Code for putting the lives of 121 people in danger.
The pilot has been arrested from Karachi and brought back to Lahore as the case is registered in Lahore, a police spokesman said. — PTI
