Among the many tragedies and sad stories that has become to characterize 2020, last month’s plane crash in Pakistan which claimed the lives of 98 people that were onboard was one of the more heartbreaking stories.
The flight that was operated by Pakistan International Airlines came crashing down to a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. It occurred only days after domestic flights were resumed to accommodate passengers as the month of Ramadan came to an end.
Among the 99 passengers and crew members that were onboard, only two miraculously survived. The 98th victim was a young 13-year-old girl who was living in the building where the plane came crashing through, who died after initially being treated at a local hospital.
The first official report that investigated into the crash concluded that human error caused the fatal crash. In particular, the pilots who were in charge were extremely distracted by chatting with each other about Covid-19, which may explain the numerous errors that culminated in the crash.
The report also found out that human error also took place on ground, where the traffic controllers in the airport did not inform the pilots even after identifying the plane’s engines creating a large spark on the runway.
Moreover, the report disclosed how a deeper investigation revealed the overall incompetency with which the pilots operated the plane. For instance, investigators found out that the plane was flying at a much higher altitude than it should have when it approached for landing.
Because the engines were severely damaged from liftoff, the pilots were unable to land a more manual second landing which caused the deadly crash, according to the report.
Pakistani Minister of Aviation said that the human errors in air and on the ground are responsible for the crash. The Minister specified the responsibilities of the pilot, who reportedly missed instructions from the ground because he was busy chatting about Covid-19.
More shockingly, the Minister said that the pilots were still talking about the global pandemic when they were making the fatal second landing, although the air-traffic controllers told the pilots that they were at too low an altitude to do so.
Share with us your thoughts on this issue, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!