ISLAMABAD – Coronavirus pandemic spread fears among major reasons for thePIA plane crash in Pakistan.
The pilots of a plane that crashed last month in Pakistan, killing 98people, were pre-occupied by the coronavirus crisis and tried to land withthe aircraft’s wheels still up, according to initial official reportsreleased Wednesday.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed into a crowdedresidential area on May 22 after both engines failed as it approachedKarachi airport for a second landing attempt, killing all but two people onboard, and a child on the ground.
The preliminary report outlines the flight’s chaotic final minutes and abizarre series of errors compounded by communication failures with airtraffic control.
Investigators found the plane was at more than twice the correct altitudewhen it first approached the runway, and the tower advised the pilots tocircle for a more gradual descent, the report states.
But, instead of going around, the pilots attempted to land anyway — eventhough they had raised the landing gear.
Air traffic control saw the Airbus A320’s engines scrape the runway with ashower of sparks, but did not tell the cockpit.
The badly damaged engines failed as the plane turned to attempt a secondlanding.
Pakistan’s aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan told parliament the pilotshad been discussing the coronavirus as they attempted to land and haddisengaged the craft’s autopilot.
“The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout they were having aconversation about corona. The [virus] was on their minds. Their familieswere affected and they were having a discussion about it,” Khan said.
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“Unfortunately the pilot was overconfident,” the minister added.
Khan also pointed to a troubling review of pilot credentials that is boundto reverberate through the country’s airline industry.
He said a probe last year found that 262 of Pakistan’s 860 active pilotshad fake licenses or had cheated on exams — including an unspecifiednumber of PIA pilots.
The crash investigation team, which included officials from the Frenchgovernment and the aviation industry, analysed cockpit data and voicerecorders.
Pakistan’s deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days afterdomestic commercial flights resumed following a two-month coronaviruslockdown.
According to the report, the plane had been on the ground for 46 daysduring that time.
But it was “100 percent fit for flying, there was no technical fault”, Khansaid.
