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A PIA flight coming in to land at the airport was told to abort the landing. —File photo
RAWALPINDI: A PIA flight coming in to land at Gilgit airport on Monday was told almost at the last moment to abort the landing, sending the pilot into a rage.
Civil aviation sources said the air traffic control (ATC) at the airport calmed him down by informing him that the runway was being cleared for him of a hazard – a dog.
As the pilot pulled up the aircraft, the airport staff went vigorously after the stray dog.
The 'bird shooter' employed to keep the airport clear of birds was also called in but missed the sprinting dog who eventually went out on its own. After this, the plane was allowed to land.
It may be remembered that a sacrificial cow was spotted on the runway at Benazir Bhutto International Airport some years back despite the fact that a ban had already been imposed on grazing of cattle near the runway.
'Often stray dogs crossed over and roamed on the runway but after construction of a wall along the runway, such incidents have become very rare,' an airport official said.
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On DawnNews
Comments (35) Closed
Jan 10, 2012 12:10pm
What is interesting about this report that the picture shown is of Skardu Airport. I would request DAWN to either use Gilgit airport picture or not to have it at all
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Jan 10, 2012 02:58pm
Farhan.....it's simply a generic depiction of an airport.
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Jan 10, 2012 03:20pm
Maybe the dog got tired of chasing cars and motor bikes and decided to chase planes instead.
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Jan 10, 2012 03:54pm
Longtime ago airports in Pakistan were built away from cities. Now the population has reached close to the airports. The only open spaces in many cities are close to the airports. If you look down hard just before touch down at Lahore airport you may spot a whole cattle colony living there,that produces waste attractive to the birds and dogs who in turn create hazards for landing airplanes. The story does not end here,100s of brick Kilns have sprung up around Islamabad airport, the smoke from which causes visibility issues in the winters. The Pilot of this airplane was rightly outraged. A missed approach from Gilgit airport is a very hard manouver for a large airplane.
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Jan 10, 2012 05:21pm
Well animals are animals after all the main question is how did the dog land up on the runway and secondly why shoot a poor animal who has no brains like human beings. Its our job and people working at the tower to look into matters like this.
Measures should be taken by ASF (Airport Secuirty Force) to insure such incedents dont occur in near future.
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Jan 10, 2012 06:33pm
The story was not worthy of being published. Please find something better to write next time. People don't have time to read rubbish stories.Our time is as precious as your's.
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Jan 10, 2012 07:20pm
What is this article about, incidents of stray animals on runways or the rage of the pilot. There is no mention in this article if the pilot was disciplined for flying into a rage instead of just flying the plane like a professional.
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Jan 10, 2012 07:32pm
Well dogs have some humor in them too! But, I think this is also a reflection of humanity in us the Pakistanis! I salute the ATC guy who thought lets save the dog as well as avert a potential hazard for the plane. Salute!
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Jan 10, 2012 07:32pm
LOL! At least there is a plane on an airport! I would not be surprised if with this news I had seen a picture of Bus at Faizabad Bus stop!
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Jan 10, 2012 08:29pm
Why do this kind of matters only occur in Pakistan...? The only reason is the irresponsiblty of concerned authorities. An international institution, having budget of billions of rupees, when gets problems, one wonders. They put in risk human lives travelling by air. It's their responsiblity to ensure the security of passangers travelling by air.
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Jan 10, 2012 09:33pm
Naughty doggy. Making a flight in gilgit go around is a very dangerous thing.
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Jan 10, 2012 09:41pm
You know, its extremely sad, but we needed a non-Pakistani (which I assume you are, sorry if Im wrong about that) to say the first thing a civilized readership should say, which is, why is there a shooter employeed who was going to shot a poor defenseless animal that cant comprehend what it is doing. Why cant the airport authorities ensure that no animal can make it so far into the compound? Also, if a dog can run it, it is not shocking how terrorists in Pakistan easily walk into military installations and blow up planes on runways.
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Jan 10, 2012 11:59pm
#Malik,
Seems you did not read the article carefully! The bird shooter tried killing it but the lucky dog escaped.
Regards
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Jan 11, 2012 12:19am
Stray dog? Isn't it more likely to be a wild dog?
A wild Dog left to starve or freeze to death because of certain
untrue beliefs.
If there's any rage around, shouldn't it be for these poor animals and how they suffer with hardly anyone willing to love and care for them?
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Jan 11, 2012 12:52am
This story is about a dog's crime against humanity.
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Jan 11, 2012 02:14am
Good to mention...thats why they say "File Photo"...and even not saying that it is Gilgit Airport after all. We should be thankful, atleast there are some planes left over from grounding...
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Jan 11, 2012 02:51am
The author is trying to report consequances that could lead to catastrophic misery. The lesson here raise a question how to avoide such risks of accidents. Prevention is always better then cure!
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Jan 11, 2012 03:36am
i belong to Gilgit.firstly the file picture shown here is not Gilgit airport infact this is Skardu airport. as far as incident is concern i want to say that civil aviation need to look after airports facilities and other matters related to it because a very small error like this can result into a big tragedy ...
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Jan 11, 2012 03:51am
The story isn't great but the picture of a plane with beautiful mountains behind it is splended! Pakistan is truely a beautiful country.
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Jan 11, 2012 04:29am
Isn't a pilot always ready for a missed approach. I know that Gilgit airport is a difficult airport to land but the newer ATR is far more maneuverable than Fokker. I have lived in Gilgit for three years and seen a lot of missed approaches. Pilot should have behaved professionally as a pilot in middle of a very complex landing having fits of rage gives me goosebumps
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Jan 11, 2012 04:48am
They could have used Multan airport as well than. I think in a hurry to post a substandard news item, the editor could only lay his hands on this picture which showed a plane with mountains in background. In actual, the Boeing 737 does not land at Gilgit airport but the ATR does.
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Jan 11, 2012 10:23am
Why is everyone so serious?! It's interesting information.. Enjoy it, better than reading about government and politics all the time..
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Jan 11, 2012 10:49am
What was this article about? the dog or the enraged pilot?
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Jan 11, 2012 11:41am
You have a long way to go in your life to learn about things that matter :) Is not it?
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Jan 11, 2012 12:44pm
Here people are dying because of cold and you are talking about animals. Bring the society to a level when people are cared and loved and then think about the animals.
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Jan 11, 2012 01:19pm
I don't thing Dog was going to stay around to see if this big bird was going to squash it to the runway. Hehe!!
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Jan 11, 2012 02:54pm
This is all misreporting. I was there and this is what happened. The man shot at the dog and missed with the No.6 shotgun pellets peppering the plane instead -- and that is what sent the pilot into a rage. I know you'll censor this but it's been fun...
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Jan 11, 2012 07:40pm
Ahem ! How dare you say such things can happen only in Pakistan. We in India are equally competent at creating events. Do check up Indian newspapers, or just read about our UPA govt. in Delhi :-)
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Jan 11, 2012 07:41pm
You never know. Sometimes you escort dogs to the plane and off.
Humor is loosing it's essence :D
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Jan 11, 2012 07:43pm
Couldn't you find any image of Gilgit airport in the files? It sucks when you are talking about Kashmir and put up a picture of Palestine.
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Jan 11, 2012 08:04pm
Dear commentators, the background picture is of Skardu and not of Gilgit airport!
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Jan 11, 2012 09:41pm
This incident reminds me of the happy time before 1993 when we used to cross the runway on bicycle on the way to and from F G degree college to reach Zulfiqarabad. The peace was so prevailing at that time that we freely cross the airport and the guard was only stationed only a little before and after the landing and departure of the Foker. Nostalgia indeed.
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Jan 11, 2012 11:23pm
Hilarious,HA HA He he ho ho.I like it
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Jan 12, 2012 09:16am
Definitely Skardu - I have the same photo on my camera!
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Jan 12, 2012 01:27pm
Dude, not that I'm against this article or anything, but this is a newspaper. It's supposed 2 B abt govt and politics. Besides, as a Canadian Pakistani, this is my only source of info on the political turmoil that plague Pakistan. Personally, I find govt and politics more enthralling than a pilot losing his cool over a stray dog playing "catch me if U can" on a runway.
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