- Blame must be laid at the right door
Nero was fiddling while Rome burned. The sure recipe for disaster, for a complete failure for a leader, is to sit on its hand and enjoy holidays, whilst the nation is stumbling from one crisis to another. They say when misfortunes come, they come not alone, but in battalions. First coronavirus, then economic slump, and the crash of PIA aircraft, and that too before Eid, and now the locust attack.
The otherwise joyful religious event of Eid-ul-Fitr became a somber one. The pressure was mounted on the Chairman of PIA, Air Marshal Arshad Malik to take the responsibility for the crash and step down. But being a warrior, he dug his heels in.
Rialways Minister Sheikh Rasheed refused point-blank to resign in the wake of train crashes. When he hitched his wagon to PTI, he would insist on Saad Rafique, then Railways Minister, to bow out. Air Marshal Malik might have followed suit. Prime Minister Imran Khan, too, would not tire of demanding resignations from public office holders before coming into power. He would quote multiple examples from Western democracies. However, post-election, this is not to be. After all, the apologists may argue that the ground realities of politics stand poles apart from lofty and empty campaign slogans and no obligation, let alone a moral one, rests upon a leader.
The all-important question that stares us in the face is whether the Air Marshal should resign or not. Speaking at a press conference following the deadly crash, not for a moment did a feeling of remorse or pain or embarrassment cross his face. The Federal Government instituted a four-member inquiry committee, headed by Air Commodore Usman Ghani to investigate the cause of the crash. Therein lies the rub. Coming as the Air Commodore and three other members do from the PAF, where a junior is not supposed to dissent from a senior, can they sit in judgment over a serving Air Marshal?
With every crash, the confidence of the general public in traveling by PIA is undermined and its reputation lies in tatters. Knowing full well that their lives are imperilled, it is hard for them to prefer PIA over other airlines. It is safety that matters ultimately
As gradually facts started becoming known, the blame was laid at the door of the pilot, who allegedly didn’t pay heed to the warning alarms sounding in the cockpit for the failure of the landing gear to opem. John Cox, an aviation safety consultant ruled out the possibility. The checklist requires the crew to make sure that the landing gear has been locked into place before preparing for landing. The conversation that went on between the Control Tower and the pilot reveals that the latter was nonchalant and he didn’t lose his cool while breaking bad news as to the failure of two engines. On the face of it, he was trying his best to follow the instructions given by the former. Even otherwise, he was a mature enough pilot, who was said to have 17,000 flight hours around the world to his credit.
However, every nerve is strained to pass the buck to him with a view to getting away with everything. The spokesman for the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association, Tariq Yahya, opined that such a crash was not unlikely, as most of the PIA aircraft were no longer airworthy. Needless to mention that a team from France based Airbus company, the maker of the ill-fated aircraft, visited Pakistan to launch its own investigation. While getting their statement recorded before it, the members of Pakistani inquiry committee shifted the whole blame on the pilot.
Following the air crash in 2014, Dr Nafisa Shah along with three other National Assembly members presented the National Air Transport Safety Board, Bill before the National Assembly with a view to establishing a board independent of the Civil Aviation Authority, to investigate the causes of plane crashes and to determine and ensure compensation. It contemplated accountability of the board and the CAA by Parliament. Sadly, the Standing Committee on the bill, recommended it be rejected by the Assembly, without setting out any reason at all.
A crash causing 97 deaths is a huge loss and embarrassment to the nation at home and abroad. In its heyday, PIA was a brand name. It would help set up airlines and train pilots around the world. Its motto was “Great people to fly with”. It was a matter of national pride. But then, things went from bad to worse.
From 1965 to 2020, PIA witnessed 10 crashes of its planes. It raises a series of questions: whether fair, transparent, and impartial inquiries were made to get at the truth and the findings were made public? What were the underlying reasons for the crashes? Whether the pilots or the flying crew were incompetent? Or could they not make crucial decisions in the wink of an eye? Were the planes not airworthy? How much time elapsed since they last underwent thorough inspection? Were the relatives of the deceased provided with adequate compensation, or were they fed on false promises? Had the inquiries been made and the crucial facts involved in crashes been revealed, heads might have rolled and proper decisions would have been taken not to repeat the same mistakes to avoid further crashes. Alas, this was not to be.
Against this backdrop, is it not delusional to attach many expectations to an inquiry commission, whose report would never see the light of the day? So why do people demand resignation? Naturally, the buck stops with the Chairman, who sits at the top of the national flag carrier and undertakes to supervise the subordinate officers. He exercises the powers of a Chief Executive. He is at the sweet will and mercy of the Federal Government, which appoints him. His fixed tenure under the law is three years, which can be cut short, and he may be relieved of his services earlier by the Federal Government. Wouldn’t he be exercising his influence to avoid getting involved in the eye of the storm? Should he not stand down in the interest of a fair, transparent and impartial inquiry?
The amount announced by the government as compensation to the tune of 1 million is derisory and illusory, to say the least.
Pakistan is a signatory to a multilateral treaty called the Montreal Convention 1999. Pursuant to it, the airline is bound to pay damages to the bereaved families. Invoking the Fatal accident Act, 1855 & The Carriage By Air (International Convention) Act, 1966, the relatives of the deceased may institute civil suits against the federal government, PIA through its Chairman and the Airbus company to claim compensation.
All said and done, under Article 19-A of the Constitution, 1973 read with the Right to Access to Information Act, 2017, it is the fundamental right of every citizen of Pakistan to demand that the findings of the inquiry report be made public. Anyone involved in criminal negligence should not go scot-free. With every crash, the confidence of the general public in traveling by PIA is undermined and its reputation lies in tatters. Knowing full well that their lives are imperilled, it is hard for them to prefer PIA over other airlines. It is safety that matters ultimately.
Unless the appointments are made purely on merit and PIA is purged of the corruption that runs through its veins and the political interference is ended, the return to its former glory is not possible. It goes without saying, it is a tall order and is easier said than done.
