History of the Flight
On 12 February 2018, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight 398, an Airbus A320-214 registered as AP-BLU, departed from Jinnah International Airport (JIAP), Karachi, for a scheduled passenger service to Sialkot International Airport (SIAP), Sialkot. The enroute portion of the flight was uneventful.
Approach and Go-Around at Sialkot
At 23:26 UTC, while 48 nautical miles from SIAP, the flight was cleared to descend. At 23:31, approximately 22 nm from Sialkot, the crew was cleared for a direct 10 nm final approach for runway 04. During descent, the crew inquired about cloud conditions and were informed of scattered clouds at 4,000 ft and cumulonimbus clouds at 3,000 ft. At 23:35, the crew reported going around. The aircraft climbed and the crew expressed intentions to turn left for another approach. However, at 23:39, they reported diverting to Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP), Lahore. While climbing through 8,000 ft, the aircraft encountered a lightning strike.
Diversion to Lahore and System Failures
At 23:40, the crew coordinated with Lahore Radar and informed SIAP Tower of their diversion to AIIAP, Lahore, climbing to FL200. During the approach to Lahore, the autopilot tripped and could not be reset, coupled with auto-thrust failure. The flight directors also became unserviceable. Due to these failures, the crew discontinued the approach at Lahore. Additionally, the airspeed exceeded the landing gear retraction limits, preventing gear retraction.
Assistance and Diversion to Karachi
The captain contacted another A320 captain traveling as a passenger on the same flight for guidance on landing gear retraction and system failure diagnosis. The aircraft then diverted and landed safely at JIAP, Karachi, at 01:53 UTC.
Technical Issues
During the initial approach to Sialkot, the aircraft experienced a weather radar failure, which was subsequently recovered by recycling the system. After the diversion from Lahore, multiple system failures were encountered, including autopilot, auto-thrust, and flight director malfunctions, along with the landing gear issue. The report noted that the weather radar failure and lightning strike were key events.
Conclusion
The serious incident involved a series of technical anomalies leading to multiple diversions. The aircraft landed safely at its originating airport without further incident.