Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404
{{short description|1989 aircraft disappearance}}
{{EngvarB|date = July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}{{Sources exist|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name = Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404
| image = AP-BBF_-_PIA_F27.jpg
| image_upright = 1.16
| alt =
| caption = AP-BBF, the aircraft involved in the accident, in Karachi in 1984
| date = {{start date|1989|8|25|df=y}}
| summary = Missing; presumed crashed
| occurrence_type = Incident
| site = Himalaya Mountains, Pakistan (presumed)
| coordinates = {{Coord|35|14|12.87|N|74|35|24.22|E|type:event|display=inline,title}}
| aircraft_type = Fokker F27 Friendship
| operator = Pakistan International Airlines
| plane1_IATA = PK404
| plane1_ICAO = PIA404
| plane1_callsign = PAKISTAN 404
| tail_number = AP-BBF
| origin = Gilgit Airport, Pakistan
| destination = Islamabad International Airport, Pakistan
| occupants = 54
| passengers = 49
| crew = 5
| fatalities = 54 (presumed)
| missing = 54
| survivors = 0 (presumed)
}}
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404 (Urdu: پی آئی اے پرواز 404) was a Fokker F27 Friendship that disappeared shortly after takeoff on 25 August 1989. The aircraft presumably crashed somewhere in the Himalayas, Pakistan. All 54 people on board were lost and presumed dead.
Disappearance
At 07:36, the flight took off from the northern city of Gilgit, Pakistan on its way to the national capital Islamabad. One of the pilots of the aircraft made a routine radio call at 07:40; this was the last communication with the aircraft. The aircraft is thought to have crashed in the Himalayas, but the wreckage has never been found. It is speculated that the civilian aircraft was deliberately shot down by the Indian Army with an anti-aircraft missile, fired from a base along the Line of Control.{{Cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1171663/27-years-flight-pk-404-still-mystery/|title=27 years on, flight PK-404 still a mystery|last=Mir|first=Shabbir|date=2016-08-29|work=The Express Tribune|access-date=2020-01-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829050419/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1171663/27-years-flight-pk-404-still-mystery/|archive-date=2016-08-29}}
Aircraft
The aircraft was a Fokker F27-200 Friendship turboprop airliner, serial number 10207, built in 1962 and registered as AP-BBF.{{cite web|url=https://aparm.net/ap-baa_ap-bzz/ap-bba_ap-bbz/ap-bbf.htm|title=AP-BBF – All Pakistan Aircraft Registration Marks|accessdate=29 August 2022}} It had accumulated approximately 44,524 hours of flying time; and 41,524 cycles (the number of times the aircraft had been pressurized) at the time of the accident.{{cite web |title=Accident Report |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890825-1 |accessdate=4 February 2014 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}
Search operation
After the disappearance, several aerial search missions were launched by the Pakistani military during the first three or four days. Later, land search parties were organized, comprising civilian and armed forces personnel. These searched the area around the {{convert|8000|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} mountain Nanga Parbat, but found nothing.{{Cite web |title=27 years on, flight PK-404 still a mystery – History of PIA – Forum |url=https://historyofpia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24685 |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=historyofpia.com}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989}}
{{Pakistan International Airlines}}
Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
Category:Pakistan International Airlines accidents and incidents
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan
Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Fokker F27
Category:August 1989 in Pakistan
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