A Boeing 747-300 operated by Pakistan International Airlines as Flight PK-3539 and carrying 493 pilgrims and 15 crew members from Multan International Airport (MUX) serving Multan in the Punjab Province of Pakistan to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) serving Jeddah, Saudi Arabia aborted its takeoff on Thursday, October 20, 2011 after being cleared for departure because of the presence of hydraulic fluid fumes reported inside the fuselage, according to reports published on Friday, October 21, 2011 by World Airline News, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Express Tribune, and other global media sources.
There were no injuries reported, and the airline accommodated all of the passengers making a special pilgrimage or Hajj to the Moslem holy cities of Mecca and Medina on another aircraft which left nine hours later.
The Hajj is the largest pilgrimage in the world, and the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
A slide show and attached video clip also accompany this report.
According to reports by the French news service, AFP, passengers had complained about a suspicious odor shortly after boarding the aircraft, but their concerns were dismissed and attributed to food that was stored in the plane's galley.
A female passenger named Shamshad Begum speaking to a reporter described the passenger's concerns, saying, "When we boarded the plane, we felt a strange smell and smoke inside. We complained to the crew but they ignored it and told us it was because of roasted meals."
The problem turned out to be much more serious. Sultan Hassan, a PIA spokesperson gave this account of the incident, and was quoted as telling a reporter, "The hydraulic system of the plane failed just before take-off and its fumes came inside the cabin. We off-loaded the passengers and sent them on another plane."
Depending on the extent of the hydraulic system failure, the flight crew may not have had backup systems available to control the aircraft, resulting in a much more serious incident, such as an emergency landing or even a fatal crash.
Each year, PIA provides up to 7 aircraft which are dedicated to take pilgrims on special flights to Saudi Arabia. The carrier plans to retire its aging fleet of Boeing 747-200M and 747-300 aircraft in December 2011, leaving it with nine Boeing 777-200ER, 777-200LR, and 777-300ER planes, in addition to 12 medium range Airbus A310-300 equipment for its international routes to Britain, Europe and North America.
PIA has been under scrutiny by the press in Pakistan which have reported on technical faults, chronic flight delays, and false bomb threats, which resulted in emergency landings and evacuations in Istanbul, Turkey (IST) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL).
Revenue figures for the past 6 years, since 2005, show that the carrier has been operating at a continuous and large deficit, with frequent press reports that Pakistan's flag airline is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.
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