Islamabad: A month after a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed, the country’s Aviation Minister told Parliament that ‘overconfidence and lack of concentration’ were some of the reasons for the tragedy that killed 97 people on board.
Presenting the interim investigation report on the PIA plane crash in the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the pilots were not focused and their lack of concentration had caused the crash..
Human error by the pilots and air traffic control caused the crash of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane, he said.
He added that the pilots had ignored the instructions of the air traffic control on the height of the aircraft. “The pilots and the ATC both did not follow the protocol,” the Minister said,adding: “The pilot ignored the instructions of the air traffic controllers and the ATC, on the other hand, did not inform the pilot about the engine colliding.”
“The pilots were discussing corona throughout the flight. They were not focussed. They talked about corona […] their families were affected. When the control tower asked him to increase the plane’s height, the pilot said ‘I’ll manage. There was overconfidence.”
Sarwar said that the cabin crew and ATC were also responsible for the tragedy. “Those who are responsible will be held accountable,” he said, promising that the complete investigation report will be presented in one year’s time.
He said that the initial report pointed out that there was no technical fault with the aircraft and even the pilot had not said the same in his conversation with the air traffic controllers.
The Minister noted that the aircraft touched the runway thrice without the landing gear which caused damage to its engines.
“When the plane took off again, both its engines had been damaged,” he said. Sarwar said that the conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controllers had been recorded and he had heard it himself.