Last month, an aircraft flying for Pakistan International Airlines crashed in Karachi while they were discussing the coronavirus pandemic. Their talks caused them not to notice the landing procedures, stated the aviation minister of the country on Wednesday.
Incompetent personnel
According to the Wall Street Journal, the minister said that a previous investigation revealed that several hundreds of Pakistani pilots employed with domestic airlines and some working internationally, cheated their way to get their licenses and had false credentials.
The aircraft in question crashed down in the middle of a residential area on the airport's edge. It resulted in the death of 97 of the 99 passengers and crew. The plane also injured one civilian on the ground which later succumbed to injuries and died.
The minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, announced the preliminary report's findings of the incident that occurred on May 22. He revealed that the pilots attempted to land the plane while not having the wheel extended, which resulted in the engines being dragged along the runway.
The crew immediately flew back up to attempt another landing, but the engines were too damaged and failed, causing the plane to drop back down.
Khan reported that no problems were found in the technical aspect of the plane, which was an Airbus 320. The minister also noted that CFM International manufactured the engines that were equipped on the plane.
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The pilot of the plane was Captain Sajjad Gul, and Khan noted him as being highly experienced and that they did not report any technical issues within the aircraft, as reported by The New York Times.
Khan said the pilots were not focused on the landing as they were talking about the coronavirus throughout the flight.
A different focus
The pilot, when notified by the control tower personnel that the plane was flying at a dangerous altitude, replied by saying he had it under control before discussing the pandemic once more. In a hearing at the National Assembly held in Islamabad, Khan said the pilots showed overconfidence.
The accident brought to light the condition of the Pakistan International Airlines' affairs. After the incident, Khan demanded an immediate inquiry into the situation of the airlines' condition.
In recent years, the national carrier had faced tremendous financial losses due to corruption, nepotism, and several other procedural incompetencies.
The airline's history also contributed to the issues as a 2010 incident killed 152 people onboard an airbus that was flying from Karachi slammed into a hill. In 2016, one aircraft burst into flames after one of its engines failed, leading to the death of 48 people on board.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association, Qasim Qadim, said the findings of the investigation were troubling and wondered how it could have happened, as reported by The Guardian.
Qadim added that all pilots make mistakes and that even the best in the world are humans prone to them.
The country has a patterned aviation safety record, documenting frequent crashes and accidents over the years of its operations.
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