The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane fell among homes on May 22. (File)
Islamabad:
A plane crash that killed 97 people in Pakistan last month was due to human error by the pilot and air traffic control, according to an initial report on the disaster released Wednesday.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane fell among homes on May 22 after the two engines failed to approach Karachi airport, killing all but two on board.
“The pilot and the controller did not follow standard rules,” said the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, announcing the findings to parliament.
He said the pilots had discussed the coronavirus pandemic as they attempted to land on the Airbus A320.
“The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout the conversation it was the coronavirus,” said Khan.
The Pakistani investigation team, which included representatives from the French government and the aviation industry, analyzed the data and the voice recorders.
The minister said the plane was “100% fit to fly, there were no technical errors”.
The county’s deadliest aviation accident in eight years occurred days after resumption of domestic commercial flights after a two-month shutdown against coronaviruses.
Many passengers were on their way to spend the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr with their loved ones.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
