Pilot held responsible for PIA plane skidding off runway.

Byline: Jamal Shahid

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan International Airlines Chief Executive Officer Air Vice Marshal Noor Abbas informed a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation on Wednesday that a pilot was responsible for the PIA plane skidding off the runway at Gilgit airport on July 21.

Discussing the issue, he said that though experienced and familiar with Gilgit airport, she landed the flight PK605 'hot' (at high speed) with 50 passengers and crew members on board.

'We are waiting for a final report from the safety board,' the senior PIA official said, adding that some technical faults were also found with the ATR aircraft, but its brakes were fully functional.

The matter was still under investigation, he said.

Senate panel also debates fake degrees of some PIA employees

Discussing the issue of fake degrees of some PIA employees and dismissal of some of them from service, the committee observed that the PIA review committee should have maintained uniform criteria while dealing with cases of fake degrees of PIA employees.

'Action should also be taken against all those officers and board members who had appointed the people with fake degrees without verifying their documents,' chairman of the committee PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan said.

The committee noted that the dismissal of the staff after 30 to 40 years of their service to the organisation was a little...