Heavy monsoon rains in Islamabad on Thursday hampered recovery efforts at the site of a Pakistani plane crash that killed all 152 people on board a day earlier, a senior police officer said.
The Airbus 321, belonging to private airline AirBlue, crashed on Wednesday into a steep and heavily-wooded hillside in Islamabad shortly before it was due to land after a flight from the southern port city of Karachi.
Thick fog and rainy weather are considered the most likely reasons for the worst aviation accident on Pakistani soil.
Bin Yameen, deputy inspector-general with the Islamabad police, told Reuters the operation to recover the remains of victims could not be resumed due to the heavy rain. Difficulty in accessing the site was also complicating salvage efforts.
"We are waiting for the rain to stop. In such weather, neither helicopters can fly nor rescue workers move up easily.
"We may give it a try but it seems very difficult to carry out such operation in difficult terrain," he said.
Investigators were looking into causes of the crash, said senior Civil Aviation Administration officer Ayaz Jadoon.
"They're going through records and documents, though they couldn't go up because of bad weather," he said, adding the plane's "black box" data recorder has yet to be recovered.
The control tower at the airport was sealed off, and radio traffic between the plane and the tower was being examined.
The torrential rain may also damage, or wash away, evidence at the site.
"Time is very precious," the investigation team's head, Khawaja Abdul Majeed, told Dawn News television after arriving in Islamabad late Wednesday from Karachi.
Showing posts with label 28 July Crash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 28 July Crash. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
فضائی حادثہ: لاشوں کی شناخت کا کام جاری
بدھ کی شام تک اسلام آباد میں لاشوں اور جسمانی اعضاء کے ایک سو بتیس تھیلے ہسپتال لائے گئے تھے جس کے بعد پینتیس لاشوں کو شناخت کر کے ورثاء کے حوالے کر دیا گیا تھا۔ بدھ کی کارروائی کے اختتام تک اڑتیس لاشوں کی شناخت کی جا سکی تھی۔حکام نے بتایا کہ لاشوں کی شناخت کا کام ڈی این اے ٹیسٹنگ کے ذریعے جاری رہے گا۔ اس کے ساتھ ساتھ جمعرات کو جائے حادثہ پر جہاز کے ملبے اور بلیک باکس کی تلاش بھی جاری رہے گی۔
شہزاد ملک، ذیشان ظفر
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد
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.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
National Mourning July 29, 2010
PM announces one day mourning for plane crash victims
Dunya TV
A passenger plane, with 152 people on board, crashed on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad. The plane was on its way from Turkey to Islamabad via Karachi. All people on board were killed.BBC URDU
پاکستان کی ایک نجی فضائی کمپنی ایئر بلو کا ایک مسافر بردار طیارہ وفاقی دارالحکومت اسلام آباد کے شمال میں مارگلہ پہاڑیوں پر گر کر تباہ ہوگیا ہے۔
One hundred and forty-six people including 139 adults, five kids and five crewmembers were onboard whereas 12 are those lucky people who missed the flight.
VOA
A plane carrying 152 people crashed near Islamabad Wednesday, killing everyone on board.
Washington Post
Passenger jet with 152 on board crashes near Pakistani capital; Official says no one survived
AFP
A Pakistani airliner carrying 150 people crashed in a ball of flames Wednesday into densely wooded hills above Islamabad during heavy rain and poor visibility, leaving little hope of survivors.
AP
A government official says all 152 people on board a plane that crashed in the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital were killed.
Soldiers of Pakistan Armed Forces rush to the site of a plane crash in Islamabad, Pakistan on Wednesday, July 28, 2010. The passenger jet carrying 152 people crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital amid rain Wednesday, officials said. According to a Pakistani government official over two dozen bodies have been recovered from the site, but many more were feared dead, while several passengers have been rescued.(AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)
Passenger plane crashes in hills near Pakistan capital
پاکستان کی ایک نجی فضائی کمپنی ایئر بلو کا ایک مسافر بردار طیارہ وفاقی دارالحکومت اسلام آباد کے شمال میں مارگلہ پہاڑیوں پر گر کر تباہ ہوگیا ہے۔Private airliner crashes in Islamabad,159 onboard (GEO News)
Police said it was an Airblue flight to Islamabad via Karachi, with more than 150 people on board.
It crashed in the Margalla Hills to the north of the city, and Pakistani television showed images of smoke and flames on a foggy hillside, with helicopters flying overhead.
A huge rescue effort has been launched. Reports said a number of bodies had been recovered.
The plane, with an estimated 152 people on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT), and officials said it lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing.
Witness Khadim Hussain told the Reuters news agency: "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office."
Saqlain Altaf told Pakistan's ARY news channel that he was on a family outing in the hills when he saw the plane, looking unsteady in the air.
"The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," he said, adding he heard the crash.
Mohammed Usman, an official at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, said dozens of relatives of passengers gathered there were crying and desperate to get information about their loved ones.
The skies in Islamabad have been heavily overcast in the past couple of days.
Initial reports said the flight originated in Turkey, but this has not been confirmed.
A huge rescue effort has been launched. Reports said a number of bodies had been recovered.
The plane, with an estimated 152 people on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT), and officials said it lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing.
Witness Khadim Hussain told the Reuters news agency: "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office."
Saqlain Altaf told Pakistan's ARY news channel that he was on a family outing in the hills when he saw the plane, looking unsteady in the air.
"The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," he said, adding he heard the crash.
Mohammed Usman, an official at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, said dozens of relatives of passengers gathered there were crying and desperate to get information about their loved ones.
The skies in Islamabad have been heavily overcast in the past couple of days.
Initial reports said the flight originated in Turkey, but this has not been confirmed.
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