Wings of Duty — Page 50

Syed Muhammad Ahmad 50 from eastern Punjab, had come to Pakistan. They had brought with them livestock in the thousands which now grazed on both sides of the railway line. As there were no arrangements for their containment, the livestock would often wander over to graze in the fields between the two runways of the airport. Oblivious to both these dangers, Sahibzada Mirza Munir Ahmad and I got ready and boarded the plane. I started the engine and taxied towards the smaller runway. After checking everything, I revved up for take off. We had perhaps moved 150 yards when, with a sharp bang, we crashed into something. The plane’s nose fell against the ground, the tail rose and we somersaulted forward. We landed upside down and continued skidding in this position before eventually coming to a stop. Despite receiving injuries to both knees, I quickly unbuckled my safety belt and ran away from the plane as fast I could, fearful that it would catch on fire from the petrol pouring out of its tank. However, within moments, I had to rush back because I realised that Sahibzada Munir Ahmad was still in the plane. He was lying head down trapped in his seat. With the plane upside down, his seat was 10 feet above the ground and he could not open his safety belt. With my help, he was able to get out, or