Analysis Air Crash

Syed Shoaib Hasan
BBC News, Karachi

Airblue is the largest of the private airlines which have sprung up in Pakistan in recent years.

The company and civil aviation officials say there was nothing in conversations between the pilot and the Islamabad control tower that suggests anything was wrong.

Although the country's air industry has been booming, critics say standards have not always kept pace with the increase in services.

Pilots complain they are being forced to fly extra hours which they say leads to fatigue, a claim denied by the airlines.

Officials say the Airblue plane that crashed was properly maintained

Experienced pilot

Plane safety is not the only issue - the physical ability of pilots has also been a cause of concern.

"Pilots are now forced to fly hours much in excess of those deemed as viable," AM Rabbani, secretary general of the Pakistan Association of Airline Pilots (Palpa) says.

"This is primarily because a new regulation implemented by the CAA."

But Mr Aijaz Haroon says the associatiom is trying to politicise the issue.

The PIA, CAA and Palpa have a long history of disputes over work-related issues.

"This is not the time for recriminations," he says. "There is no substance at all in any of their claims."

In addition, industry experts say the traffic-control protocols and navigation aids in Islamabad airport leave much to be desired.

"Why was the plane circling at 1,600ft when the minimum for Islamabad is 3,000ft?" a local aviation told the KN News.

At the moment, the jury remains out on which of these factors played a pivotal role in the disaster.

But what is certain is that a thorough and public investigation is needed to answer questions about the 28 July disaster.