PIA flight forced to land in Indonesia

[FULLTHRUST]

http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/07/pakistan ... nesia.html

JAKARTA: Officials say two Indonesian fighter jets have forced a Pakistani passenger plane to land after entering Indonesian air space without authorisation.

A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines says the aircraft is chartered by UN peacekeepers in East Timor and might have strayed off course due to bad weather.

Local air force chief Agus Supriatna said the Boeing 737-300 with 54 people aboard landed Monday at the Sultan Hasanuddin airport in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. He said it would be allowed to leave after arranging necessary documents.

PIA spokesman Tajwar Mashood said that the Pakistani Embassy in Indonesia has been informed and is taking action.

[Abbas Ali]

Was it a Boeing 737-300 in PIA livery and does anyone know its registration ?

In photos section of forum, there are photos of a Boeing 737-300 registered in Pakistan as AP-BIW but without operator markings. Could it be AP-BIW operated by PIA cockpit crew ?

Here's some more info about the incident:

Plane Forced to Land For Flying Without Permission

Rahmat | March 07, 2011

Makassar - A charter plane headed for Malaysia was forced to land in Sulawesi on Monday for flying over Indonesia without proper permission.

The plane landed at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, at 1.50 p.m. on Monday.

The were 49 passengers, all of which are Pakistani policemen who are serving in East Timor as part of the peacekeeping troops, and five crew members on board. They have been questioned by the authorities.

First Air Marshal Agus Supriatna, the commander of the airport, said the plane was a Boeing 737-300 owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“The airport radar detected the plane at 12 a.m. and the crew didn’t communicate with the control tower,” Agus told the Jakarta Globe.

He instructed a Sukhoi plane to chase the Boeing and force it to land at the airport.

“The plane landed at 1.50 p.m. It was piloted by Captain Tariq Khalil ur Rehman Awan,” he said, adding the plane took off from Dili, East Timor, and was headed for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The plane allegedly flew over Indonesia without fulfilling three requirements — namely diplomatic clearance, security clearance and flight approval.

“Every plane planning to fly over a foreign country must meet these three requirements,” Agus said.

The plane was parked at the airport while the crew and passengers were questioned by the airport authority, immigration and officials from the Indonesian Air Force.

“We have filed a report to the Malaysian Embassy, the Foreign Ministry and the Transportation Ministry to help the plane fulfill the clearances,” Agus said.

Source: www.thejakartaglobe.com

[Abbas Ali]

It's not clear whether the PIA Boeing 737 was going to East Timor or coming from East Timor.

According to local news channels:

* The PIA Boeing 737 was flying under the command of Capt. Tahir.

* The aircraft was operating flight from Karachi to Dili via Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur.

* Two Indonesian combat aircraft intercepted PIA Boeing 737.

* The PIA Boeing 737 was forced to land at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport which is located 17 km from Makassar. Makassar is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Abbas

[umar744]

yes PIA 737-33A AP-BEH correct Capt.Tariq Awan and Capt. F.H. Ghori KHI-DIL-KUL but my cousin Arooj's husband Capt. Saeed A. still wait for KUL-DAC-KHI.
Newspaper or TV news correct

[Abbas Ali]

Local news channels showed Boeing 737-300 parked in Indonesia and it is in PIA livery. PIA crew and Pakistan Rangers personnel were also shown standing on tarmac. In the background military combat aircraft and a C-130 were also visible.

According to PTV News, the PIA Boeing 737-300 was returning to Pakistan from Dili.

Negotiations are going on, clearance for aircraft to resume its flight is expected in next 1-2 hours.

Here's video grab showing PIA Boeing 737-300 parked in Indonesia. It is wearing new PIA livery could be AP-BEH or AP-BFT.


Abbas

[Abbas Ali]

According to latest reports, Indonesian authorities have cleared PIA Boeing 737-300 to resume its journey.

Abbas

[Salman Haider]

[Abbas Ali]

According to latest reports:

* PIA Boeing 737-300 cleared to resume its flight.

* The aircraft has departed from Indonesia.

* The aircraft will arrive in Islamabad via Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka.

* Expected to land in Islamabad around 7:00AM on March 8.

* Due to bad weather PIA aircraft veered off its flight path/entered Indonesian air space.

Abbas

[AM]

The aircraft will most probably do a night stop due to crew time limitation.
As the causes ,Indonesian airspace includes East Timor, inspite of it being an independent country and they still control the airspace over Timor.

All permisions had been taken from Timor authorities but the confusion arose when the indonesians claimed that as they controlled the airspace ,permission was not taken from them.

A similar flight had operated two days ago and no objection was made so why was objection made today and taht also on the way back from DIL.why was the objection not made when the aircraft was going to DIL.

[umar744]

AP-BEH correct my cousin Capt.Saeed A fly KUL-DAC-KHI inshallah.

[inducedrag]

What PIA requires is a very GOOD GM central Control who can handle all chatters

[Abbas Ali]

A Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet is parked on the tarmac at a military base in Makassar, Indonesia, Monday, March 7, 2011. Officials say two Indonesian fighter jets have forced the plane to land after entering Indonesian air space without authorization - Source: Yahoo! News

Abbas

[meekal ahmed]

This is pretty embarrassing. You have to be a lousy pilot to drift off-course for whatever cause and enter airspace that you are not authorized to fly in.

Couldn't he ask for help from radar? Couldn't he talk to other aircraft on his radio frequency who may have been able to relay a message to ATC?

Why not announce a "Pan, Pan, Pan" (non-emergency) and get attention?

I think the crew should be given a proper dressing-down for loss of situational awareness and poor airmanship. True the 737-300 has the old analog instruments. But there is a CDI. Use it!

[AM]

The aircraft never drifted off course ,and for the record the same series of sectors was operated two days ago by another B737 from PIA.The aircraft was flying exactly as per flight plan .
The reason for the forced landing have been written above in previous post.

[Abbas Ali]

According to information on following link, it was PIA Boeing 737-33A, registration AP-BEH, performing charter flight PK-7789 with 49 passengers and 5 crew,

The Boeing 737 reached Islamabad via Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka with a delay of about 10 hours.

Info Source: avherald.com