A senior pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines and former Vice President of the Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (Palpa), Sadiq Rehman, has violated aviation laws by compromising air safety on Toronto-bound flight on July 4th.
According to the sources, Sadiq Rehman had not taken the 24-hour mandatory rest in Lahore before taking the transatlantic flight from there.
The PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar admitted that the pilot did not take the mandatory rest before operating the long duration flight on July 4th.
The sources said that the PIA had scheduled Mr Rehman to arrive in Lahore on evening of July 2nd, where he was expected to rest on July 3rd and then continued (after resting for over 36 hours) to operate the flight to Canada.
Mr Rehman did not follow the precise schedule and rules. He stayed in Karachi on July 2 and left for Lahore on July 3rd, along with 30kgs of luggage in two suitcases. Then he continued the Toronto-bound flight on morning of July 4th, without following the mandatory 24-hour rest.
The sources have confirmed that the 24-hour mandatory rest had been prescribed by the CAA rules and Air Navigation Order (ANO) before long flights so that the crew could remain fresh during the flight, as monotonous and fatigued crew can lead to disaster.
Mr Tajwar confirmed that pilot Rehman travelled from Karachi aboard PK-306, arriving in Lahore at 8.45pm on July 3rd. This makes his stay in Lahore for around 15 hours before he operated PK-789 on July 4 at 11.35am.