Officials: Noises on PIA flight to Pakistan scare passengers

Panic gripped passengers when a Pakistan International Airlines plane made unusual noises while returning to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia, but the aircraft safely landed at the Karachi airport, a passenger and airport officials said Thursday. The scare came weeks after another of the airline's Airbus A320 aircraft went down in a residential area, killing 97 passengers and crew members. Pakistan International Airlines rejected local media reports that flight PK-8726 made an emergency landing Wednesday night on its return from Riyadh. It said a part on the A320 developed a problem and was being fixed. The airline did not provide details about the nature of the problem, which resulted in the plane making noises that terrified passengers who were in a state of shock when the plane landed, according to three airport officials who spoke from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to media.<br/>