Qatar Airways flight no. QR629 from Lahore to Doha, made an emergency landing at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport (KHI - OPKC) after it developed a "technical fault" as reported by local media outlets on Tuesday.
According to sources within Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), Qatar Airways flight QR629 operated by Boeing 777-300ER, Reg A7-BEA, with 200 passengers on board, was to Doha from Lahore when the jetliner developed a technical fault that required to land the aircraft.
The flight crew of QR629 changed the flight SQUAWK code to 7700 (state of emergency) and contacted air traffic controller in Karachi and sought permission for an emergency landing at Karachi airport, according to PCAA official.
Flight QR629 was at FL380 about 240nm westnorthwest of Karachi (Pakistan) about to enter Iranian Airspace when the crew decided to turn around and divert to Karachi reporting the right hand engine (GE90) was shut down. The aircraft drifted down to 15,000 feet and landed safely on Karachi's runway 25L about 50 minutes after leaving FL380.
Passengers were disembarked to the transit lounge, sources said.
The loacal regulator, PCAA spokesman further said, "all flight operations at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, are normal.
The aircraft is still on the ground in Karachi about 10 hours after landing.
Reporting by Aero News Journal