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Associated PressA Pakistan International Airlines plane at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, TurkeyPakistan discovers pilots cheated on tests
by Onize Ohikere
Posted 6/25/20, 03:09 pm
The Karachi-based state-run airline on Thursday said 150 of its pilots had other people take their licensing exams for them. Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said the company grounded all the implicated pilots as the country investigates a deadly plane crash last month.
What caused the crash? Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarqar Khan on Wednesday said the pilot and co-pilot were both qualified to fly but did not adhere to the Karachi air control tower’s warnings that the plane was too high to land after a failed landing attempt. He noted the investigation found 262 of the country’s 869 national pilots had bogus licenses. The May 22 crash killed 97 people.
Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift on the tragedy.
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Onize Ohikere
Onize is WORLD's Africa reporter. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University-Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria. Follow her on Twitter @onize_ohiks.