# Canonical recap data for Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 (2020)
# Source: https://recap.at/2020/pakistan-international-airlines-flight-8303
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: pakistan-international-airlines-flight-8303
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2020/pakistan-international-airlines-flight-8303"
title: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303
aliases:
- PIA Flight 8303
- Karachi plane crash
- Pakistan International Airlines crash
subtitle: "On this day (05/22), 6 years ago: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashes in Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 98 people."
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2020-05-22
datePrecision: day
year: 2020
decade: 2020
summaryShort: On 22 May 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Lahore to Karachi, crashed while on approach to Jinnah International Airport Karachi, killing 97 out of the 99 people on board as well as an additional person on the ground. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 91 passe
summaryLong: On 22 May 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Lahore to Karachi, crashed while on approach to Jinnah International Airport Karachi, killing 97 out of the 99 people on board as well as an additional person on the ground. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 91 passengers and 8 crew members on board, was on an unstable approach to Jinnah International Airport, with an excessively high airspeed and altitude. The aircraft subsequently belly landed nearly half-way down the airport runway before the flight crew conducted a go-around. During the go-around, both engines started to fail due to damage sustained during the belly landing. Whilst attempting to land back on the runway, the aircraft lost airspeed and crashed into buildings in Model Colony. All 8 crew members and 89 out of the 91 passengers on board were killed by the impact and post-crash fire. One person who was inside the buildings died ten days after the crash due to burn injuries.
lede: On May 22, 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashed while attempting to land in Karachi, killing 97 of the 99 people aboard plus one person on the ground. The Airbus A320 had declared a mayday after both engines failed during approach, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Pakistani history.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/PK8303_crash_site_%28cropped%29.png/1280px-PK8303_crash_site_%28cropped%29.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: May 22, 2020
- label: Aircraft type
  value: Airbus A320-200
- label: Route
  value: Lahore to Karachi
- label: Passengers and crew
  value: 99 total
- label: Deaths
  value: 98 (97 aboard, 1 on ground)
- label: Survivors
  value: "1"
- label: Landing airport
  value: Jinnah International Airport, Karachi
- label: Investigation lead
  value: French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA)
timeline:
- date: 2020-05-22
  title: Mayday declaration
  description: Flight 8303 declares emergency after both engines fail during approach to Jinnah International Airport. Captain Sajjad Gul reports hydraulic failure.
- date: 2020-05-22
  title: Crash and casualties
  description: Aircraft crashes near Model Colony residential area in Karachi. 97 passengers and crew killed; one survivor, Muhammad Zubair, a banker in business class. Additional fatality reported on ground.
- date: 2020-05-23
  title: Investigation launched
  description: French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis (BEA) assumes lead investigative role per international aviation protocols.
- date: 2020-06-24
  title: Preliminary report released
  description: BEA publishes initial findings suggesting pilots were distracted and failed to properly respond to engine failure warnings before attempting emergency landing.
- date: 2021-09-30
  title: Final investigation report
  description: BEA concludes pilot error and lack of crew resource management contributed to crash. Report cites failure to execute proper procedures after engine failures.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_International_Airlines_Flight_8303"
  title: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The crash exposed systemic failures in Pakistan's aviation oversight, including pilot fatigue protocols and maintenance standards. It prompted an international investigation by French authorities and led to scrutiny of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, ultimately resulting in tighter regulations for domestic carriers.
categories: []
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- natural_disaster
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
metaDescription: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashes in Karachi, killing 97 aboard and triggering major aviation safety overhaul.
wikidataQid: Q95092655
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20200630190358/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_International_Airlines_Flight_8303"
  capturedAt: 2020-06-30
  label: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_International_Airlines_Flight_8303"
