Gilgit - Rawalpindi

The airplane departed Gilgit Airport at 1140LT bound for Rawalpindi on flight PK631. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet in poor weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near Jalkot. The wreckage was found few hours later and none of the 31 occupants survived the crash. At the time of the accident, the visibility was nil due to low clouds and snow falls. Apparently, the crew lost his orientation and maybe started the descent prematurely, causing the aircraft to struck the ground.

Flight / Schedule

Gilgit - Rawalpindi

Registration

AP-AUS

MSN

10314

Year of Manufacture

1966

Date

December 8, 1972 at 12:15 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Mountains

Crash Location

Sialkot (Jalkot) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (<U+062E><U+06CC><U+0628><U+0631><U+067E><U+062E><U+062A><U+0648><U+0646><U+062E><U+0648><U+0627>)

Region

Asia • Pakistan

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On December 8, 1972 at 12:15 PM, Gilgit - Rawalpindi experienced a crash involving Fokker F27 Friendship, operated by Pakistan International Airlines - PIA, with the event recorded near Sialkot (Jalkot) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (<U+062E><U+06CC><U+0628><U+0631><U+067E><U+062E><U+062A><U+0648><U+0646><U+062E><U+0648><U+0627>).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

31 people were known to be on board, 31 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 5, passengers on board: 26, passenger fatalities: 26, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane departed Gilgit Airport at 1140LT bound for Rawalpindi on flight PK631. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet in poor weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near Jalkot. The wreckage was found few hours later and none of the 31 occupants survived the crash. At the time of the accident, the visibility was nil due to low clouds and snow falls. Apparently, the crew lost his orientation and maybe started the descent prematurely, causing the aircraft to struck the ground.

Aircraft reference details include registration AP-AUS, MSN 10314, year of manufacture 1966.

Fatalities

Total

31

Crew

5

Passengers

26

Other

0

Crash Summary

The airplane departed Gilgit Airport at 1140LT bound for Rawalpindi on flight PK631. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet in poor weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near Jalkot. The wreckage was found few hours later and none of the 31 occupants survived the crash. At the time of the accident, the visibility was nil due to low clouds and snow falls. Apparently, the crew lost his orientation and maybe started the descent prematurely, causing the aircraft to struck the ground.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

5

Passengers On Board

26

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 31

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Gilgit - Rawalpindi

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Mountains

Region / Country

Asia • Pakistan

Aircraft Details

Registration

AP-AUS

MSN

10314

Year of Manufacture

1966