Vickers Viscount 815  (Copyright © Vickers-Armstrongs)

This photo shows PIA's very first brand new Vickers Viscount 815 (AP-AJC) on a pre-delivery test flight before its delivery to PIA on January 12, 1959. On May 18, 1959, AP-AJC skidded sideways off the runway and broke one of its wings after landing at Rawalpindi Airport, Pakistan. Although, there was no loss of life in this accident but AP-AJC was damaged beyond repair and withdrawn from use

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300  (Abbas Ali Collection)

This photo shows AP-AWH at an airfield in East Pakistan. Six brand-new Twin Otters were delivered to PIA between November 1970 and March 1971. The former Sikorsky S-61N helicopter routes in East Pakistan were resumed with these new Twin Otters. These sturdy little airliners were most suitable and perfect for STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in East Pakistan.

At the start of 1971 Pak-India war, on December 4, 1971,
AP-AWH was one of two PIA Twin Otters at Dacca Airport/Tejgaon Air Base in East Pakistan.

The two Twin Otters were hidden under trees due to absence of pen not large enough to properly secure these two aircraft. On December 4 afternoon, AP-AWH was destroyed on ground by an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21FL flown by Wing Commander Bhupinder Kumar Bishnoi during air raid. The second Twin Otter was lucky to survive the air raid.

On December 8, the surviving Twin Otter of PIA took-off from Dacca airfield taxiway on flight to Burma (presently known as Myanmar). The Twin Otter on its flight to Burma carried Pakistan Air Force (PAF) No. 14 Squadron F-86E Sabre fighter pilots because runway at Dacca cratered by IAF bombings had become unusable for combat aircraft operations. The F-86E pilots were flown to Burma to shift them to West Pakistan and enable them to take part in air war from West Pakistan.