AAIB Finds Technical Errors In Havelian Plane Tragedy

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Nov, 2020 ) :The Aircraft Accident Investigation board (AAIB) report issued on Thursday pointed out mainly three technical errors that caused PIA plane crash near Havelian and claimed 47 lives on December 7, 2016 including religious scholar and former singer Junaid Jamshed.

A press release quoting the AAIB report, said the factors including fracture of one of power turbine blades of engine one, a broken/fractured pin inside over speed governor and probable pre-existing contamination inside Propeller Valve Module as behind the crash of PIA flight PK-661 (AP-BHO) near Havelian, Abbottabad.

A fractured turbine blade triggered a "complicated" sequence of failures that culminated in the fatal Havelian 24 nautical miles north of Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIAP), Islamabad.

The investigations were carried out under the guidelines provided by ICAO and were aimed at improving the safety of air travel and to avoid any recurrence in future.

The report was being issued after nearly four years investigations owing to the complexity and unprecedented nature of latent conditions. The investigations were carried out in coordination with the respective states and their aircraft accident investigation bodies. This report is being released with the concurrence of these stakeholders including BEA of France, TSB of Canada and NTSB of USA.

Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has expressed his sympathies and condolences with the families who lost their loved ones during the tragic crash.

PIA's PK-661, crashed while travelling from Chitral to Islamabad. It is pertinent to mention here that PM Imran in May 2020 had ordered to make public all reports on fatal plane crashes that happened in past.