PIA flight PK756( AP-BGN) from Riyadh to Peshawar has been hit by gun fire on landing approach. According to news channels, one female passenger has died whilst one flight steward is in critical state. Flights to Peshawar are on divert at the moment.

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BBC News - Shots fired at plane landing in Peshawar, Pakistan

This is not good news.

Something to ponder while awaiting further news/details.

If this plane was hit by small arms while the aircraft was still in the air, rather than on the ground, somebody on board got hit with the veritable "golden bullet" (or Golden BB) in this case.

My point of reference is the almost daily reports of small arms fire at aircraft coming into BIAP back about ten years ago, with nary a fatality save one unlucky Aussie who caught one (on a C-130 IIRC). :uhoh:

That's indeed bad news. What will the Gulf carriers do now? The airport is in a built up area so anyone could take a potshot at any aircraft landing or taking off parallel the main road. In this case runway 35.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...d62c6f17b10ea2

( from the Associated Press, with the caveat --for any non-pilot guests-- that breaking news reports on aviation-related matters may be incorrect )


[T]he Senior Superintendent of Police, Najeeb ur Rehman Bhagvi, said when he and other authorities later inspected the plane they found at least ten bullet holes.

The plane was about 300 feet (90 meters) off the ground when someone opened fire on it from below with a sub-machine gun or an AK-47, Bhagvi said.

Sky News reporting a fatality from the gun shots.

Passenger Dies As Gunman Hits Landing Plane

I seem to remember Jepp' plates for Peshawar stating that aircraft may be shot at if routing over the Tribal Areas.

Start routing periodic Spooky flights into Peshawar. May slow down the activity a little bit.

Reports one killed and 3 injured and the Captain narrowly missed.

Photo of one of the flight crew who was hit / injured.

This could happen anywhere in Iraq or Iran etc what with the easy availability of AK 47s , Kalashnikovs nowadays.

I think it would be more like a 12.7 mil (a 50 Cal) from single barrel Dushka Machine Gun.

5 bullets hit plane, 1 dead, 3 injured had to be large caliber.

Not good.

If the Captain was narrowly missed, I will venture a guess that the small arms engagement was from the forward quarter. (about 10:00 to 2:00)

550, I am not sure that it is necessarily a 12.7mm or .50 cal class weapon just because of high hit rate. I don't think it "had to be a large caliber." (Might have been, though, as a bipod or tripod MG might be easier to aim at a moving target ... )

Jacketed AK-47 rounds (similar to M-14 rounds in terms of 7.62/.308ish caliber) would have little trouble penetrating an aluminum skinned airliner.

I think that the weapon is the critical item here.

I have experience with ballistic testing of airframes and there is not enough info published in these reports to assess cause-effect.

The airframe is not just a simple alum. thickness and the risk has been very low to passenger jets for crew or passengers being disabled.

Surely the answer is for Pilots to internationally agree to embargo any country or part thereof ,where the authorities have a distinct inability to ensure flight safety.

I'm sure that the inabilty to airfreight goods and pax in and out would concentrate their minds.

Imminent economic collapse has a wonderful ability to prioritise allocation of resources!

Any non-military pilot flying where
must want their bumps feeling.

to put it another way, - They're :mad: mad!

leave the savages to thin out each other!

Daddy-Oh,
That brings back old memories, our Airad plates warned not to get too far west in the circuit. There were similar warnings for Quetta.
The warning was well found, during the time I was a contract pilot, flying G- registered B707 for PIA, we had one aircraft hit. I took my hat off the F/E who even noticed the damage, very minor, on a pre-flight at Peshawar, right out on the wing tip, and it certainly wasn't there when we left Karachi.

It looked/measured about .303, nothing a bit of 500mph tape (something we always had on board) couldn't fix.

Indeed, at one time it was alleged our call sign should have been "Speedtape".

Hardly the first time in that neighborhood. Wasn't an F-27 or the like downed by celebratory gunfire at a wedding party, maybe 40 years ago?

Lovely people. :*

Shooting at aircraft again
 

Seems like they are shooting at aircraft again


Cargo plane comes under fire near Peshawar airport ? The Express Tribune


PESHAWAR: A Russian cargo plane was attacked in the outskirt of Peshawar before it landed at the Bacha Khan International Airport late on Sunday.
According to details, around 9pm on Sunday the aircraft was attacked with an AK-47 rifle in the Sheikh Muhammadi area of Peshawar. The plane was hit by a single bullet in tail.
CCPO Ijaz Khan confirmed the report and said that there was no report of loss in the attack and the aircraft managed to land safely. He added that it was cargo plane rather than a passenger one.
Earlier on June 26, 2014, gunmen fired on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-756, carrying 178 passengers and crew members, as it was landing at the Bacha Khan International Airport Tuesday night, killing a woman and injuring two others, including a crew member.