Mystery still shrouds the strange disappearance of a wheel that was very much in its place when a PIA’s plane had taken off from Karachi but was missing when the plane touched down at Lahore airport after around one hour and 45 minutes.

On Wednesday night, it was discovered that PIA’s PK306 flight had landed in Lahore with one of its main landing gear wheels missing. Despite the missing wheel, the aircraft landed safely without incident.

A PIA spokesperson said the airline’s Flight Safety Department, in coordination with the CAA, has launched an investigation into the incident in accordance with aviation regulations.

The exact cause will be determined after a final investigation report, but initial assessments suggest that the wheel may have been damaged by Foreign Object Debris (FOD) or an external factor on Karachi’s runway.

Sources said after an alert from Lahore Air Traffic Control (ATC), a part of the wheel assembly was discovered at Karachi Airport. However, despite over 14 hours of searching, the missing wheel has not yet been located at either Karachi or Lahore airports.