Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Wednesday presented the preliminary report on the PK-8303 crash that claimed the lives of 97 people in the National Assembly. Presenting the initial investigation report on the floor of the House, Sarwar told the National Assembly that the PIA aircraft that crashed in Karachi last month was “100% fit “to fly. The fact has been revealed that pilots were discussing Coronavirus before the plane got crashed.
Pakistan's aviation minister said an initial report showed human error (pilot and control room) in a crash of PIA flight PK 8303 that killed 97 people. Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the plane was perfectly fit to fly. A pilots' association is demanding an inquiry board. #Pakistan
— Ayesha Tanzeem (@atanzeem) June 24, 2020
“The pilot of the PK-8303 and air traffic controller did not follow the procedure and the pilot of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane was overconfident,” he told parliament.
Sarwar said that the pilot and the co-pilot of PK-8303 were not focused and they were discussing the coronavirus pandemic as it had affected their families and were not focused on the aircraft. “As pilots were discussing Coronavirus, lack of concentration of pilots had resulted in the plane crash”, he added.
The federal aviation minister concluded that the cabin crew and ATC were responsible for the PIA plane crash. “Those who are responsible will be held accountable,” he added.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan presents PK-8303 crash report in NA https://t.co/jdyjrZlsQM
— Sabah news (@Sabahnews786) June 24, 2020
Speaking about that plane crash incidents happened in the past, Ghulam Sarwar said that the Bhoja air crash and the Air Blue plane crash had been caused as a result of the pilots’ faults.
Investigators in their preliminary report on the PK-8303 crash that claimed the lives of 97 people held the pilot of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane and air traffic controller responsible for the incident. According to the report, the pilot of the PK-8303 did not follow the procedure and he was “overconfident”.
Read More: PK-8303 crash: pilot’s ‘overconfidence’ led to the tragic incident, preliminary report
The air traffic controller is equally responsible for the incident as he did not ask the pilot to make landing instead of taking off when the engine hit the runway, the report said.
Havelian plane crash plane crash
Briefing NA about Havelian plane crash plane crash, the minister said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-661 from Chitral crashed in the hills of Gagan due to technical fault. “Havelian plane crash had been caused due to technical fault, there was no fault of a pilot in the incident”, he told. The investigation of PK-661 plane crash has been completed, said Ghulam Sarwar.
After claiming that pilots were discussing Coronavirus, Ghulam Sarwar promised that the complete investigation report of the PIA plane PK-8303 crash will be presented in one year’s time.
12 plane crash incidents: Make all plane crash reports public
A few weeks ago, while explaining why did PK-8303 get crashed, Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the government had announced Rs1 million compensation for the families of those who were killed in the PIA plane crash.
He said that 12 plane crash incidents have happened till yet since the creation of Pakistan, adding that all investigation reports on the plane crash will be made public and to be present before parliament.
“Government will present the initial investigation report of PIA plane crash before parliament on June 22,” said the minister.
Read More: Why did PK-8303 get crashed? CAA reveals shocking details.
The aircraft with 99 passengers and crew members on board had crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at Karachi airport. Only two people survived the tragic incident.
Pilots were discussing Coronavirus? PALPA protests probe leak
Earlier, the PALPA protested against the alleged leak of details of a probe into the plane crash.
“The administration seems no more interested in conducting a thorough probe into the incident,” PALPA claimed in a statement, adding that the leak was aimed at diverting the investigation into the incident that claimed lives of 97 people onboard except two survivors. “They want to save the real characters behind the incident,” it alleged.
The association said that the pilots also have questions to be asked from the air traffic control officials.
Read More: Pilot violated the rules which led to PIA plane crash
They asked why a long route was designated for the ill-fated plane. “The air traffic control officials are trying to portray a wrong picture by merging details of first and second landing attempts of the plane,” PALPA said. As the fact has been established that the pilots were discussing Coronavirus and not concentrating on the plane, there needs to be a thorough investigation if the pilots go through any medical/psychological test before running the plane.