The preliminary investigation report submitted to the Aviation Division has ruled out technical fault as a cause for last month’s tragic crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane in Karachi, stating that the unfortunate incident took place due to human errors – the negligence of both the cockpit crew as well as the air control tower, according to media reports.
PIA flight PK8303, carrying 99 people including 8 crew members, crashed into a densely populated residential area near Karachi airport on May 22 as it was making its second attempt to land. Ninety-seven people were killed in the accident that also caused considerable damage to the residential area.
A day after the incident, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had notified an investigation team headed by its Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board (AAIB) President Air Commodore Usman Ghani. The team that also comprised Wing Commander Malik Imran, Technical Investigation Group Additional Director Captain Touqeer, Pakistan Air Force Safety Board Ops Investigator Kamran and Air Traffic Control Ops Joint Director Nasir Majeed was to submit its preliminary report on June 22.
On Monday, Air Commodore Ghani gave a detailed briefing to the Aviation Division officials.
According to the report, the CAA officials, the cockpit crew, the control tower and the air traffic control repeatedly made mistakes. The aircraft’s black box has so far not indicated the possibility of any technical fault, it added.
The report said both the speed and the altitude of the aircraft was more than the recommended parameters when the pilot tried first landing. In the first landing, the aircraft touched the ground at the middle of 9,000-meter-long runway.
The control tower permitted landing despite greater speed and altitude. The air traffic control also did not provide the control tower with the radio frequency. The pilot also did not inform the control tower about jamming of the landing gears. It was also wrong decision on part of the pilot to attempt a second landing.
The plane stayed in the air for 17 minutes after the first landing attempt, a crucial time during which both the engines of the aircraft failed.
It said fragments of the PIA aircraft’s engine stayed on the runway for 12 hours but the air site unit did not collect them and later other aircraft were allowed to land on the runway. This was a violation of the standard operating procedure, putting other aircraft at serious risk, it added.
According to the report, the air traffic control officials should have been relieved after the incident but they continued to perform their duties till 7pm. It said the aircraft’s first engine was installed on February 25, 2019 while its second engine was installed on May 27, 2019.
All three landing gears of the aircraft were installed on October 18, 2014. The fateful plane was 16-year-old and was manufactured in 2004. The plane was included in the PIA fleet in October 2014.
Minister for Civil Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan Monday told the National Assembly that the interim report on the plane crash will be presented in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He confirmed that he has received the report and also shared it with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, the Aviation Division disowned the report aired by certain television channels regarding provisional inquiry report into the plane crash.
“Media friends are informed that couple of TV channels have been referring to a report regarding crash of PIA flight PK-8303. No such report has been issued by the Aviation Division,” spokesperson Abdul Sattar Khokhar said in a brief statement.
The report, being circulated through the two TV channels, was not from any authentic source, he added.
