PIA flight PK-704 from New York to Karachi via Manchester was heading homeward when suddenly the pilot located a cat hidden under radar-cum-brake pedal.

The plane at that time was flying over Manchester where it was scheduled to land before flying for Karachi.

It landed at Manchester where a cat search operation was launched.

The flight resumed yesterday after thirty hours delay. Flight and air navigation experts say presence of cat or any other pet in the cockpit could be very dangerous and it could even result in a crash.

As the cat was found in the machine part of the plane known as equipment avionics bay, which is jealously guarded by the airport administration, the experts are of the view that the bay must have been left unattended which provided an opportunity to the cat to slip in.

The PIA authorities are still investigating how the cat sneaked into the sensitive area of the plane. It is, however, guessed that it could be a pet cat, which might have escaped out of the cargo hold for pets and measuring its way up the staircase entered the cockpit directly.