Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404
AP-BBF, the aircraft involved in the accident, in Karachi in 1984
Incident
Date25 August 1989 (1989-08-25)
SummaryMissing; presumed crashed
Site
Aircraft
Aircraft typeFokker F27 Friendship
OperatorPakistan International Airlines
IATA flight No.PK404
ICAO flight No.PIA404
Call signPAKISTAN 404
RegistrationAP-BBF
Flight originGilgit Airport, Pakistan
DestinationIslamabad International Airport, Pakistan
Occupants54
Passengers49
Crew5
Fatalities54 (presumed)
Missing54
Survivors0 (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.[1]

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. Some conspiracists claimed that the aircraft was shot down by India after it crossed the Line of Control, though there is no evidence supporting this.[2]

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Fokker F27-200 Friendship turboprop airliner, serial number 10207, built in 1962 and registered as AP-BBF. 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.[1]

Search operation

After the disappearance, several aerial search missions were launched by the Pakistani military using C-130s and search helicopters during the first three or four days. The Indian Air Force also launched an operation on the Indian side of the LOC[3]. Later, land search parties were organized, comprising civilian and armed forces personnel. These searched the area around the 8,000-metre-high (26,000 ft) mountain Nanga Parbat, but found nothing.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Accident Report". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Mir, Shabbir (29 August 2016). "27 years on, flight PK-404 still a mystery". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "The Airplane that Never Landed". 25 January 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2025.


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