International airlines ground Pak pilots after reports of ‘dubious licence’ emerge
The 262 pilots - 109 commercial and 153 airline transport pilots - were grounded on Friday, pending conclusion of inquiries against them.
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Sunday dismissed reports that the plane that crashed in northern Afghanistan mountains belongs to India.
In a statement released on ‘X’, the MoCA said it was a small plane registered in Morocco and not an Indian Scheduled Aircraft.
“The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan registered small aircraft,” the civil aviation ministry said, adding more details are awaited.
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Earlier, new reports citing Afghanistan Police and local authorities claimed that a plane originating from India crashed in the Wakhan region of Badakhshan.
They said that the plane was heading towards Moscow from India.
According to a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official cited by ANI, the plane was a Moroccan-registered DC-10 aircraft which crashed in the mountains of Topkhana alongside the districts of Kuran-Munjan and Zibak of Badakhshan province.
The local authorities are yet to confirm the type of the aircraft and the number of casualties. It is not yet clear how many passengers were onboard the aircraft.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the a Russian-registered plane carrying six passengers lost contact over Afghanistan on Saturday evening.
The plane was a French-made Dassault Falcon 10 jet. The plane was a charter flight travelling from India via Uzbekistan to Moscow.
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