PIA plane crash: Pilot ignored warnings thrice says report

KARACHI: The pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, which crashed on 22 May in Karachi killing 97 passengers onboard, had ignored three warnings from Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) about the altitude and speed of the aircraft before landing.

According to an ATC report, Captain Sajjad Gul, the pilot of PK-8303 flight of Airbus A-320, said that he “would handle the situation” before the aircraft crashed into a narrow residential street, bringing significant damage to houses in a densely-populated neighborhood.

ATC report further said plane was 15 nautical miles from the Jinnah International Airport, flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet above the ground instead of 7,000 when the ATC issued its first warning to lower the plane’s altitude.

However, instead of lowering the altitude, the pilot responded by saying that he was satisfied and managed the situation. It added when only 10 nautical miles were left till the airport, the plane was at an altitude of 7,000 feet instead of 3,000 feet.

The ATC issued a second warning to the pilot to lower the plane’s altitude. The pilot responded again by stating that he was satisfied and would handle the situation, adding that he was ready for landing.

The report indicated that the plane had enough fuel to fly for two hours and 34 minutes, while its total flying time was recorded at one hour and 33 minutes.

The investigators are trying to find out if the crash is attributable to a pilot error or a technical glitch.

Meanwhile, a team of Airbus arrived in Karachi to assist the probe of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash, visited the site of the crash on Tuesday.

The team of 11 French experts landed in Karachi Airport on a special Airbus 338 flight this morning.They had received a briefing about the plane crash at the PIA Head Office.

Later, the experts visit the plane crash location along with Pakistan’s investigation team. Sources privy to the development said that the experts will also visit the runway of the Karachi airport and will see the footage of the cameras installed at the runway.

According to the PIA’s engineering and maintenance department, the last check of the plane was done on March 21 this year and it had flown from Muscat to Lahore a day before the crash.

READ MORE: 21 victims killed in PIA plane crash identified: PIA spokesperson