Investigators hold pilot, air traffic controller responsible for PIA plane crash

ISLAMABAD – A provisional inquiry report on the worst airline disaster in over a decade in Pakistan last month revealed that the incident happened due to the mistakes committed by both pilot and air traffic controller.

Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan submitted the initial probe report to Prime Minister Imran Khan today, exactly a month after the tragic incident.

The report stated that the pilot of the ill-fated flight was “overconfident” as he did not follow the Standard Operating Procedures for landing, causing the deadly crash in which 97 people were killed.  

The investigation, which was headed by Air Commodore Mohammad Usman Ghani and also joined by officials of Airbus Company, stated that the air controller was held responsible for giving go-ahead to the pilot for making a second attempt for landing after the first failed.

The report has been prepared on the basis of conversation between the ATC and the pilot, cockpit voice recorder data and evidence collected from the site where the plane had crashed.

On May 22, flight PK-8303 of the PIA with 99 passengers on board crashed in populated area of Model Colony, around five kilometers away from the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

The plane had made two failed attempts to land and it might have lost its both engines after first failed landing.