“In considering how a pilot’s job description has changed from the hands-on era to the current era of programming and monitoring computers, old timers suggest that today’s pilots better be careful or they might program themselves out of a job. I don’t think that there are many old aviators from the hands-on era who envy the pilots of these aerial transport yawners. There are a multitude of pilots flying the jets today who haven’t had the privilege of getting scared. The greatness of an airline doesn’t come from its large size, or all the updated equipment. It’s the employees who make the best of what they have and dedicate their hearts and soul to making it work. That’s what makes a resplendent airline.”–The Golden Years of Flying by Capt Tex Searle
In my career with PIA as a captain and co-pilot, I flew with 160 captains on three different aircraft 160-30 (dual equipment) = 130. It was a great opportunity to acquire hands on experience which is one of the problems facing commercial aviation; lack of experience for the role assigned. In North America, an airline co-pilot flies with one captain for some length of time which in my opinion robs him of worthwhile experience imparted through a change of captains. I have compiled a list of the seniors who taught me to stay alive:
Fokker F-27 Captains Rawalpindi Base
- August 1969 to October 1970
- August 1975 to March 1976
- Amin Akhtar
- Abbas
- Fida Muhammad Khan (son is with Qatar Airways)
- Manzoor Chaudhry ex-PAF Transport C130
- Masud Ahmad: ex-PAF
- Osman Khan: ex PAF
- Syed Haider Rahat: ex-PAF (two sons are working in aviation; one is A300 captain (Sarwath) with Qatar Airways, and another is a B747 (Nusrat) captain till last known)
- Syed Ahmad Hussain Rizvi (son was working in PIA as a pilot till last known)
- Nayyar Mohsin, Flt. Lt, ex PAF Instructor Risalpur
- Mushtaq Shariff: ex PAF
- Shaukat Ali: ex-PAF, Flt Lt., served on deputation on F-27 with Royal Air Maroc
Fokker F-27 Captains, Lahore Base
- November 1970 to August 1971
- Anwarullah, formerly Lahore Flying Club–Fokker crash Rawat, Rawalpindi 6/8/70
- Akbar Afridi
- Mubashir Ahmed-deceased Fokker crash 1971 war
- Muhammad Zaki (son is flying for some airline)
- N. H. Naqvi, Squadron Leader, ex-PAF Transport
- Saadat Ali
- Shahid Ali
- Zahid Hussain-brother of Capt. Hamid Hussain (Mehrabad fame)
- Waheed Hasan Jaswal
- Fazluddin Haqqi
- Mansoor E. Khan
- Mansoor Malik
- Munir, ex-PAF Flt.Lt., F-104
- Mohammad Ashraf Zuberi;
- Ashraf, left for Biman 1971, Bangladesh Airlines.
Fokker F-27 Captains Karachi Base
- September 1971 to October 1973; December 1974 to July 1975
- Muhammad Akmal (General Secretary PALPA. Led a pilot strike during Ziaul Haq’s time)
- S. U.R. Bokhari
- F. H.K. Ghori (ex-PAF, Flt. Lt. Instructor Risalpur; CFI PIA Flying Training Academy 1967-69)
- Humayun (left for Libyan Airlines 1972)
- Mannan ex-PAF, went on deputation to Malaysia
- N. D. Khan
- Etizaz Rabbani (ex-PAF, Sqn Ldr)
- Raziuddin
- Sajid Quraishi
- Agha Ahmed Teherany
- Mian Shahid Waseem
- Wajid Ali Shah
- Amjad Faizi
- Aqeel Ahmed Hashmi
- Ansar Siddiqui
- A. Q. Bhurgiri
- Shahnawaz Dara (later DFO)
- Mir Rashid (status unknown; left PIA a long time ago)
- Mansoor Moghal
- Hasan Zaheer (ex-PAF, Wing Comm., B-57)
707/720 Captains
November 1973 to November 1974; May 1976 to January 1977; May 1980 to August 1987
- Akbar Afridi
- Azmat (ex-PAF, Sqn. Ldr.
- A.T.M.A. Hussain
- Agha Ahmed Teherany
- Amin Akhtar
- Abbas
- Bashar
- B Ahmed
- E. Rabbani ex PAF, Sqn. Ldr.
- Fida Muhammad
- Hamid Hussain (Mehrabad fame)
- Hameed Malik
- Hashmat
- Iftekhar Janjua (deceased Kathmandu crash of Airbus A300)
- Imamuddin Khwaja
- J. M. Qureshi
- Kazi Masud (DFO)
- Kadri
- Muhammad Arshad Mir (ex-PAF Transport)
- Muhammad Akmal (General Secretary PALPA)
- Muhammad Ishaq (DFO)- son is a doctor and was a pilot in PIA
- Maqsood (ex-Squadron Ldr, PAF)
- Manzoor Chaudhry (ex-PAF, Flt Lt.)
- Musawwar Sangdila
- Mushtaq Cheema
- M. Salim
- M. I. Younis
- Morgan Félix
- Muhammad Ghiasuddin
- Nasir Rana (ex-PAF Transport)
- Nisar Chughtai
- Omair
- Raonaq
- Sami Ahmed
- Sheikh Rashid;
- Sadiq Ali
- Sajid Quraishi
- Shahab
- Shafiq Qadri
- Syed Sultan Zaman (DFO)
- Wajid Ali Shah
- Wicar Ahmed
- Mahmood Ahmad
- Shamim
- Najam ul Huda
- Reginald Norman Luther (retd. from Singapore Airlines
- Mohammad Afzal
- Anis Khan
- Ashfaq Hussain
- Aqeel Ahmad Hashmi
- Shahnawaz Dara (later DFO)
- Ejaz ul Haq (retd. from Emirates B777)
- Farrukh Naqi
- Idrees Ahmed (President PALPA, DFO)
- Nasir Pervaiz Junaidi DFO, civilian POW in 1971
- Khalid Iqbal
- Khursheed Cheema
- Riaz Khokhar
- M. S.K. Lodhi
- Munir Khan
- Mahfooz
- Mirza Rafiq Mazhar
- Mansoor Moghal
- Mansoor Elahi Khan
- Zubair
- Nayyar Mohsin
- Safdar Nana
- Osman Yunus
- Pervaiz Saeed
- Musheer Ahmad Suri
- Shuja ul Hasan
- Shaukat Ali
- Tahir Rashid Mir
- Tariq
- Zia Mohammad.
Former BOAC/BA B707 captains with PIA 1974-80 (status unknown)
- Easton
- Lovelace
- Drayton
- Siegel
- Stille-Lancaster pilot in WW2
- Banfield
- Blake
- Gingles
- Williams
747 Captains–March 1977–April 1980
- Anwar Khan
- Ashfaq
- A. A. Aziz
- Ahmed Ali
- Bashir Akhtar
- Chaudhry
- Hameed Malik
- Muhammad Ishaq, DFO
- Haider Ali Fazil
- Imamuddin Khwaja
- Khusro Nawaz Khan
- K. R. Khan
- Mobin ur Rashid
- Muhammad Inamur Rehman
- Mian Abdul Aziz, DFO
- Naqi Hussain Naqvi-murdered by domestic help
- M. F. Nasir-road accident in Lahore as passenger after retirement
- Abdur Rahim
- Raja Ziaullah
- Muhammad Zaki
- M. M. Salehjee
- Shaukat Hussain Khan, DFO
- Siraj Ali
- Salim Akbar.
- Saeed Akhtar
- A. Shah
- Salimul Haq
- M. M. Mahmood
- Syed Shamim Akbar
- Afaq Ahmed Rizvi
- Donald Frazer
Dual Equipment Captains
- Amin Akhtar
- Agha Ahmed Teherany
- Akbar Afridi
- Amjad Faizi
- Aqeel Ahmed Hashmi
- Bashir Akhtar
- Fida Muhammad Khan
- Fazluddin Haqqi
- Hasan Zaheer
- Hameed Malik
- Imamuddin Khwaja
- Manzoor Chaudhry
- Mushtaq Shariff
- Muhammad Zaki
- Mansoor E. Khan
- Muhammad Akmal
- Muhammad Ishaq
- Mansoor Moghal
- Nayyar Mohsin
- H. Naqvi
- Osman Khan
- Pervaiz Saeed
- Raja Ziaullah
- Shaukat Ali
- Sajid Quraishi
- Shahnawaz Dara
- Shaukat Hussain Khan
- Salimul Haq
- Tahir Rashid Mir
- Wajid Ali Shah
Captains in bold letters have expired
smhusain1's Blog 
Asaulakum sir . I thing at the age 8 in
1974 I was on a PIA 707 from Lahore
To London with my mother . I remember a I long haired
White complexed young man in the
Right hand seat .
I gather this was capt m salim … am
I correct ????
Captain M. Salim was my senior in PIA. He could not be sitting on the right seat on a 707 in 1974 as he was a qualified captain on that aircraft at that time and able to sit on the left hand pilot seat in the cockpit.
Ok thank you
Not known to me
Thank you for your reply
To my question … I met
Capt abdullah baig at Heathrow in 1981 and there was a British pilot in the room next door this is why I have asked you this question .
I was seeing capt baig over taking up flying but to my subprise he suggested a
Flight engineer course .
He was a lovely man who I meet with my father at PIA
Flight ops T3 in Dec 1981.
As you know capt baig has
Since passed away in 1987
Capt. Abdullah was given a ground job at London Heathrow Airport after his retirement from flying. That is all I know about him after he left Karachi. I am aware of foreign pilots and flight engineers serving in PIA around the time I flew in command on the 707, in fact I flew with five or six ex-BOAC captains who were in PIA before I became a captain on that aircraft. I also flew with non-Pakistani flight engineers in 1980-81 probably.
Thank you captain Hussain I will keep in touch I gather you did not command the PIA Dc 10 and 747 like capt
Baig
Your inference is correct.
The last time I flew on a PIA 707 was in august 1989 320 C from Karachi to
Lahore . The aircraft was being tossed about in flight en route to Lahore it seemed the aircraft was sinking like going downwards completely dark outside . I started to hold hands with my mother or stupidly my uncle but the aircraft settled off .
After I we started getting off the 707 I asked the flight engineer I presume he was a FE how about how turbulent the flight was I got a zero reply from him.
The last PIA 707s that used to come into Heathrow as I remember was two cargo types AP AXG. AP BBK as I remember I alway used to wait for there approach to Heathrow between
1997 /1999.
Unfortunately did not get the chance to load unload cargo on these because I was in another job . But between 2010 until 2015 I was loading unloading cargo on PIA 777 AP BHV. AP BHW
AP BID. Plus BGL BGJ AP BGK
Etc I did one PIA 747 367 AP BGG which had bad engine problems when we commenced a pushback at Heathrow in 2011 one of the engines were not spinning or starting .
I feel PIA have many maintenance issues on the 777 .. drive systems don’t work … load sheets can be very upsetting were human remains are loaded into hold 5 and 300 baggage are put on top of them .. humans remains are put on cargo pallets with heavy cargo put on them which I feel is in human .
To me PIA is not going in the right direction
Your remark about the loading of human remains is very illuminating.
Thank you for listening to my views
.. I will keep in touch
I have no experience of loading matters except that the load sheet should be correct.
Notification to pilot is signed by the pilot in command but he has no idea
What exactly is going on in his cargo hold .
He will know from the loading (trim) sheet if any hazardous cargo is on board. The airline operation is a teamwork. Even in the cockpit, it is teamwork, the captain does not and cannot fly alone.
The loading of the PIA 777 ie the way
The containers and pallets are loaded what nil fits are must be in the hold if they are any .
The amount of loose baggage is loaded in hold five etc ie is faxed by Karachi and was never done by Danata … this is the direct reason why we would question that there are 2 or 4 nil fits maybe in the front and rear cargo holds and there putting 300 baggage into hold 5.
PIA have very odd loading instructions which is making a easy job hard for the appointed ground handlers. The guys that I used to work for sometimes tried to get away from doing the PIA because the hard work that was involved even though the white guys were pretty hard working then the Pakistani and Indians who were extremely lazy .
However sir I have never seen any pilot come into the cargo hold and question on cargo that is being loaded like ie human remains or question certain things on pallets condition and bin conditions that might worry him .
However the ramp operation is donkey work if the containers are demaged or pallets are uneven etc or there is no drive system working PIA have no interest in safety .
Tommrow you might find dogs and cats mixed up with human remains in hold 5 … veg being put with again with human remains etc .
The loading instruction for the PIA 777 is done by Karachi not at London and it’s faxed over … that’s why the loading is absurd
Assalam ul Kum
Capt sm Hussain
I am asking the question over the
Crash of the Iranian 707 cargo belonging to shaha airlines .
What do you think has happened to this aircraft as you have flown the 707 do you think it was a common 707 nose gear failure or what ???
Or did the cargo shift aft or forward during flight ie mid loading of cargo as it was carrying meat .
Fimamallah
I have not followed thecaccident
Asalaam o Alaikum,
In the list of deceased Captains, the name of my father Capt Baqir is mentioned. Alhamdulillah he is still alive, 88 and FIT. Kindly correct your record. Regards,
Yawar
Regret this error. I am very sorry about it and hope you will accept my apology
You missed my father’s name – Capt Wicar in your list. You flew with him on B707 in 1970s
Added. Sorry.
Hello,
I am the grandson of Wicar Ahmed, and was wondering if you have any recollection/stories about him?
Thank you