Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan presented the preliminary report on the PIA plane crash before the National Assembly on Wednesday, where he accused the pilots of being ‘over confident’.
Based on the initial report, Khan held the pilot, the cabin crew, and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) responsible for the plane crash, which resulted in the deaths of 97 out of 99 persons on board the flight.
“The pilot and the ATC did not follow the procedure. The plane was 100 per cent okay,” said the minister, eliminating the possibility of technical faults with the aircraft.
Khan added that the pilots were not “focused” because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the last half hour, the pilots’ discussion was about coronavirus, they were not focused as their families were affected,” said the minister, adding that the pilot and co-pilot were both fit and experienced.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crash on May 22nd in Karachi took place due to human errors, said the preliminary investigation report submitted to the Aviation Division in a high level meeting on Monday. The negligence of both the cockpit crew as well as the air control tower caused the accident and there was apparently no technical fault.
Another Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, PK-605, was denied take-off due to a technical fault. The aircraft which had arrived at Gilgit Airport from Islamabad was cancelled out of safety concerns. Upon inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority, it was discovered that the landing gear wheel was missing a bolt. This is the second case of fault in PIA plane since the deadly crash on May 22nd.
While international authorities analyse data of the ill-fated PK-8303 black box, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has alleged that pilot of crashed aircraft did not follow the instructions of the air-traffic controller (ATC) to lower the altitude. In a letter to the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), CAA said that the pilot was warned twice about his speed and altitude.
The missing cockpit voice recorder of the PIA PK-8303 that crashed on May 22 has finally been found, the airline confirmed Thursday. Ninety-seven passengers were killed and two survived aftert he plane crash. The recorder was found from the debris and has been handed over to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board.
The passenger death toll from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303, which crashed on Friday afternoon has risen to 97. Only two survived the crash — the chief executive of the Bank of Punjab and a young engineer. The Karachi-bound flight from Lahore had been seconds away from landing at the Karachi airport when it crashed in the residential Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, right outside the airport’s boundary wall.
PIA resumed domestic flight operations in the country, operating two flights from Karachi to Lahore and Islamabad and one from Lahore to Karachi. As part of a series of precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, each alternate seat is being left empty. But the burden of these empty seats is being passed on to passengers.
PIA will be operating daily flights to the UK to send back stranded Britons and bring back stranded Pakistanis. The PIA spokesperson said the flights will start April 19 (Sunday). They will operate from Lahore and Islamabad to London, Manchester and Birmingham. The added that the permission was given after assurance that all safety measures will be implemented.
PIA stopped its flight operations from Karachi on Sunday after four pilots were suspected of contracting the coronavirus. CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik has issued immediate instructions to ground the planes. Four pilots were stopped as part of precautionary measures against the virus.The Pakistan Airline Pilots Association has stopped the pilots from flying and has called for safety measures for pilots saying that PIA has been unable to provide a safe environment.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has cancelled all its international flights till March 28. This move comes into effect tonight at 8pm. This does not mean that Pakistani airspace has been closed and the move is to curb the spread of the noverl coronavirus, clarified PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan. He added that all flights are being cancelled and tickets will be refunded.