ISLAMABAD: Sources in the Civil Aviation Authorities have revealed the last conversation between the Airblue pilot and the control tower.

Sources have said that the control tower issued an initial warning when the plane was getting out of the limits of the runway. The plane was travelling at nine point five nautical miles while it had to turn at five nautical miles.

All aboard Airblue passenger plane flying from Karachi to Islamabad were killed when the plane crashed in the suburb of capital Islamabad today. At least 152 people including crew member were reportedly on board.

The following conversation reportedly took place between the control tower and the pilot:

Control tower’s first warning: You are getting away from the runway.

Pilot’s response: We can see the runway.

Control tower’s second warning: Turn to your left immediately, you are heading towards Margalla Hills.

Pilot’s response: We can see that.

This was the last reply form the pilot and then the flight lost its contact with the control tower and soon after it crashed.

CAA submits initial report

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Authorities compiled their initial investigation report into the tragic plane crash.

According to the report sent to the Defence Ministry, poor visibility and the plane flying below the given altitude were the cause of the incident.

The report also revealed that a Chinese airplane was asked to land at the Islamabad airport at the same time but the pilot did not take the risk and instead changed his course.

But, the pilot of the Airblue flight took a wrong turn and instead of going right, it moved towards the left side and ended up colliding with the Margalla Hills.

Pilot’s fatigue may be behind crash: PALPA President

President of Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (PALPA), Captain Sohail Baloch on Wednesday said Margalla Hills plane crash may be attributed to pilot’s fatigue.

“The pilot may be suffering from accumulated fatigue because they are not given adequate leaves,” he told a private news channel. Captain Sohail Baloch said the route was not a no-fly zone, as speculated.

The plane exceeded the safety distance due to bad weather.

He said this decision was, again, taken by the pilot who could not determine appropriate landing route and added the ISL system’s access ends a little before Islamabad and the pilot had to resort to visual queues for landing.

There could be other reasons to the crash, which will only be uncovered after completion of investigation, he added.

Airport sources said the Air Blue flight ED-202 took off at7:50 am from Karachi to Islamabad and crashed at 9:50 a.m.

(Express Tribune)

KARACHI: The captain of the Pakistani passenger jet that crashed in the hills of Islamabad on Wednesday was a top professional flying into one of the most testing airports for pilots, a colleague said.

“Islamabad airport’s location is not an easy destination to fly into,” Hashim Raza Gardezi, a former colleague of Pervez Iqbal Chaudhry who piloted the doomed Airbus A-321, told AFP.

The craggy Margalla Hills to the north of the capital and unpredictable wind patterns can make an approach extremely difficult he said, going so far as to describe Islamabad as “one of the worst weather conditions in the world”.

“Irregular wind systems surround the Margalla Hills often make it difficult for the pilots while in the air,” Gardezi, a pilot for state Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), said.

Airblue’s flight 202 from Karachi was coming into land at Benazir Bhutto International airport when witnesses saw a jet flying at unusually low altitude then heard a loud boom.

Gardezi told AFP that Chaudhry, was a true professional.

“Chaudhry was one of the finest professionals in this field… who never took unnecessary risks during his professional career.” Procedures for safe landing at Islamabad advise pilots not to descend lower than 1,000 feet (300 metres) unless they have full visibility of the runway.

Gardezi said half an hour before the crash, a PIA flight was diverted to the eastern city of Lahore owing to poor weather conditions.

“With the experience Chaudhry had, I suppose the weather had got better by then prompting him to go for landing,” he told Geo television.

Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the pilot had been in contact with the control tower at the airport until just before the crash.

“In the last conversation with the control tower, the pilot had been given landing clearance and the plane was proceeding normally for landing before it crashed into the hills,” said Riaz-ul-Haq, the authority’s deputy director.

The civil aviation authority said all possible causes would be investigated, including terrorism and bad weather, although officials gave no indication that an attack might have been to blame.