Dubai: The front landing gear of a Saudia flight caught fire as it landed at Pakistan’s Peshawar airport on Thursday, prompting a swift evacuation of all passengers and crew members to safety.
No one was injured in the incident, according to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. All 276 passengers and 21 crew members were safely evacuated with an inflatable slide.
Quoting CAA spokesperson Saifullah local newspapers said air traffic controllers witnessed smoke and sparks emanating from the left landing gear of the aircraft as it landed and alerted the pilots, airport fire and rescue services.
The fire department personnel extinguished the flames quickly.
“The fire tenders swiftly controlled the fire in the landing gear, saving the aircraft from a major accident,” Saifullah was quoted as saying.
In a statement on Twitter, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned airline Saudia said that its aircraft SV792, flying from Riyadh to Peshawar, “experienced smoke emanating from one of the tyres during landing at Peshawar International Airport in Pakistan.The aircraft was immediately stopped and the relevant authorities were notified. All guests and crew were safely evacuated through the evacuation slide. The aircraft is now undergoing technical evaluation by specialists...”
The aircraft, a seven year old Airbus A330-300, is now undergoing comprehensive inspections and subsequent tests to ensure its safety, Saudia said in response to questions from Bloomberg.
