Black box recovered from the scene of crash
An 11 member Airbus investigation team has arrived in Karachi to look into what led to the crash of ill-fated flight PK-8303 in Karachi last Friday.
The plane, which crashed into a residential area, had eighty nine passengers and seven crew members on board. Two passengers miraculously survived the crash and are expected to make a full recovery.
The French team made a number of visits including going to the crash site where they were apprised of the details. They were also briefed about the progress of the four member Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board’s (AAIB) team.
According to sources, the black box that include FDR (Flight Data Recorders) and CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorders) have been recovered from the scene. The system will be provided to the Airbus team to decode it in France. This will allow the investigators to discover the reason that led to the crash if the pilot and the crew followed the laid down procedures or not.
It is also reported that the team is looking for the complete record of the aircraft including its maintenance related documents. The team has already received written statement from the air traffic controller at Karachi.
The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) played down the reports that the team left Pakistan.
Meanwhile, International Federation of Air Line Pilots Association (IFALPA) President Captain Jack Netskar has sent a letter to Air Commodore Usman Ghani, requesting inclusion of a pilot investigator in the ongoing probe. Netskar said the association feels that the involvement of an active commercial pilots will be invaluable to any incident investigation.
“Ifalpa has developed a programme involving accreditation of pilot investigators. These pilots are carefully selected based on their training, qualifications and experience; all have to successfully complete an approved international accident investigation course,” he said, requesting the participation of an Ifalpa expert airline pilot as “adviser to the investigator in charge”.
