Pakistan plane crash was 'human error', pilots were discussing COVID-19: Initial report
Islamabad/IBNS: A plane crash that killed 97 people onboard in Pakistan last month was a result of human error by the pilot and air traffic control, an initial probe report about the disaster revealed on Wednesday.
"The pilot as well as the controller didn't follow the standard rules," Pakistan's Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was quoted as saying in media while announcing the findings in Parliament.
According to the initial probe, Khan said the pilots had been discussing the COVID-19 pandemic while they were attempting to land the Airbus A320.
"The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout the conversation was about coronavirus," Khan said.
He added that Airbus A320 was perfectly fit for flying and that there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, run by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The Pakistani investigation team includes officials from the French government and the aviation industry. They have reportedly analysed data and voice recorders.
Khan said the complete report of the investigation would be presented in one year's time, which will include details from a recording taken during the descent of the airbus.
A Pakistani aircraft with 91 passengers and eight crew members crashed near the Karachi Airport just minutes before it was about to land there on May 22.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303, from Lahore, crashed in a densely populated residential area - Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir - just a few minutes away from the Jinnah International Airport.
While 97 of the total flyers were killed, two passengers survived the disastrous accident.
In the final moments, the pilots reportedly told the Air Traffic Controller that they had lost both the engines, before sending the international distress message, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday".
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