As a flier, Alice crashed in outer Pakistan (7)

I believe the answer is:

pelican

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'as a flier' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'alice crashed in outer pakistan' is the wordplay.
'crashed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'outer' suggests removing the centre.
'pakistan' with its centre removed is 'pn'.
'alice' is an anagram of 'elica'.
'elica' placed within 'pn' is 'PELICAN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pelican that I've seen before include "Its beak holds more than its belly can" , "Nice pal (anag)" , "In place (anag.)" , "Water bird with throat pouch for fish" , "Large-pouched bird" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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