After a loss of pressure in Fly Jinnah’s A320, pilots and cabin crew required oxygen | News

Pakistani authorities said the crew of an Airbus A320 required additional oxygen after climbing to cruising altitude because they had previously believed the pressure problem had been resolved.

The Fly Jinnah aircraft had operated a flight from Lahore to Karachi on May 24.

The French investigative authority BEA, citing its Pakistani colleagues, states that the aircraft took off but aborted the climb at an altitude of 2,440 meters due to a “pressure indicator”.

However, the crew then asked to continue the climb, it said. The problem was solved and the aircraft can now reach an altitude of 36,000 feet.

However, as the aircraft passed an altitude of 23,000 feet, both the captain and first officer felt “dizzy and drowsy,” BEA says, and experienced a sense of lethargy.

The two pilots put on oxygen masks “immediately,” it said.

According to BEA, one of the cabin crew members “fainted” before regaining consciousness after being given additional oxygen, while the other cabin crew on board felt unwell.

The aircraft climbed to 27,000 feet before the crew reported a pressure problem 100 nautical miles off Lahore and requested to descend and return to Lahore.

According to BEA, the aircraft landed safely and the occupants were not injured. The aircraft was identified as AP-BOV, a CFM56-powered twin-engine aircraft from CFM International that was originally delivered to Air Arabia in 2011.

Air Arabia is a partner in Fly Jinnah, a joint venture that began operations in 2022.