PIA fires 28 pilots over fake licenses scandal.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's national carrier is firing 28 pilots found to have tainted licenses, the company's spokesman said Wednesday, the latest chapter in a scandal that emerged in the wake of the Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in May.

An inquiry into the May 22 crash that killed 97 people on board resulted in the stunning revelation that 262 of 860 pilots in Pakistan had cheated on their pilots exams, but were still given licences by the Civil Aviation Authority. The government later fired five officials of the regulatory agency and criminal charges against them are being considered.

The scandal has shocked the nation, including the families of those passengers who died when the flight PK8303 went down in a congested residential area while trying to land in the port city of Karachi. There were only two survivors on board and a girl died on the ground.

The revelations of tainted pilot licenses have also embarrassed the government and shaken the top ranks of Pakistan International Airlines. The European Union's aviation safety agency and the United Kingdom subsequently banned PIA from flying into Europe for at least six months following revelations that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their exams. Pakistani...