Pilots of crashed PIA plane were not focussed, were discussing virus: Minister
ISLAMABAD: The pilots of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane that crashed
last month were not focussed and they were discussing Coronavirus during the flight, the country's aviation minister told Parliament on Wednesday as he pointed out their "overconfidence and lack of concentration" as some of the reasons for the tragedy that killed 97 people on board.
The domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 22.
The Airbus A320 aircraft of the national carrier had 91 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed into the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on Friday, minutes before its landing. One girl died on the ground after suffering burn injuries.
Two passengers miracu
lously survived the crash. Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan presented the interim investigation report on the PIA plane crash in the National Assembly, saying that the pilots were not focused and their lack of concentration had caused the crash.
Human error by the pilots and air traffic control caused the crash of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane, he said.
The minister said that the pilots had ignored the instructions of the air traffic control on the height of the aircraft.
"The pilots and the ATC both did not follow the protocol," he said.
"The pilot ignored the instructions of the air traffic controllers and the ATC, on the other hand, did not inform the pilot about the engine colliding.