I didn't realize that anything but the 777's were operating to Europe again -
Pilots used emergency brakes to halt a Pakistan International Airways jetliner about to take off after an engine caught fire, said an airline official and state media. PIA spokesperson Nasir Jamal said none of the 135 passengers or crew were hurt, although the state-run news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan, reported that some had bruises.
The Airbus 310 was midway through its run for takeoff for Birmingham, England, at 09:00 (04:00 GMT) when the pilots detected an engine problem and applied emergency brakes, which caused the plane's tires to burst, said Jamal. APP said there was a fire in one engine but that "a major disaster was averted". Jamal said the runway at Islamabad's international airport was blocked for over five hours, until the plane was dragged onto the apron. At least six incoming flights were diverted to Lahore, and outgoing flights were delayed, he said.
It is the latest in a series of PIA mishaps. The once-respected airline has been beset by worries over plane safety and its finances. In March, PIA temporarily slashed its flights to Europe by nearly 50% after the European Union barred most of its planes due to safety concerns.
Earlier this month, a government official told Pakistan's parliament that pilots of a PIA plane that crashed last year, killing all 45 people on board, took off despite knowing the right engine was not working properly. An air force inquiry into the July 2006 crash of the Fokker F-27 turboprop on a domestic flight also highlighted shortcomings in maintenance of the 27-year old plane, parliamentary secretary for defence, Tanvir Hussain, told lawmakers.