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A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) domestic flight landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on Thursday with one of its rear wheels missing, raising serious aviation safety concerns. Fortunately, no incident or mishap occurred during the landing, according to an official statement released on Friday.
Flight PK-306, which departed from Karachi for Lahore, completed its journey despite missing a crucial wheel on its main landing gear. The PIA officials have initiated a thorough investigation to determine whether the aircraft took off from Karachi in this condition or if the wheel detached during takeoff.
On March 12, #PIA – Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 (AP-BLS) flight #PK306 from #Karachi landed safely in #Lahore with a missing wheel of the main landing gear. The missing wheel was noticed during an inspection at Lahore Airport.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue📷 ©historyofpia#Pakistan #Airbus pic.twitter.com/AqgECtO98J
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) March 15, 2025
Fragments of the missing wheel were discovered at Karachi airport, suggesting that the aircraft might have been in a compromised state before departure. “It appears that one of the rear wheels was already in a deteriorated condition when the aircraft took off,” an airline official stated.
Despite the missing wheel, the PIA spokesperson assured that the aircraft executed a “smooth and uneventful landing” as scheduled, with passengers disembarking normally. However, it was only during a routine post-flight inspection by the captain that the missing wheel was noticed.
“As per standard flight safety procedures, PIA’s flight safety team, along with Lahore airport officials, has initiated an investigation,” the spokesperson confirmed. The inquiry will also explore whether there was any possibility of the wheel being stolen, though officials consider such a scenario unlikely.
PIA emphasized that the aircraft is designed to handle such situations without posing immediate risks to passengers or equipment. The investigation findings are expected to provide further clarity on the incident, raising concerns about aircraft maintenance and pre-flight safety checks.
