PIA To Fully Probe Cause Of Crash: Chairman

ISLAMABAD, Dec 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Dec, 2016 ) : Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Azam Saigol Wednesday said complete investigation would be carried out into the crash of ATR aircraft near Havelian.

Speaking at a press conference here along with Chief Operating Officer (COO) Qasim Hayat, he said, "We will investigate how the plane met the accident." He said there was no technical fault in the plane.

ATR planes were considered safe for travel as thousands of French manufactured aircraft were operating around the world, he added. Saigol said the plane was manufactured in 2007 and was included in the PIA fleet the same year.

At present the PIA had 11 ATR planes which were flying normal, he added. The chairman said the crashed plane underwent an air worthiness check in October, adding air worthiness check is usually conducted after every 500 hours or 60 days under supervision of PIA engineers.

Answering a question, the chairman was of the view that there was no possibility of human error, however the causes would be ascertained after complete investigation. PIA along with international agencies would conduct the probe.

He said black box of the plane was found from the crash site and it would be sent to the manufacturer for decoding.

He said every PIA plane was checked as per routine and on regular basis. He said it was not possible that any plane was allowed to fly with a technical fault.

"We came to know that one engine of the plane had developed fault and we were hopeful that the plane would manage to land safely with the other engine. Then we came to know that the plane vanished from the radar and crashed," he continued.

Call of May Day (help) was given by the pilot at 4.14 p.m, he added. He said the pilot and co-pilots of the plane had required flying experience. Air travel was still the most safe mode of travel, however, faults could happen in any plane, he added.

He said all the passengers of the ill-fated plane died. About rescue efforts, Azam Saigol said their focus was on recovering the bodies with the help of army helicopters. The dead bodies were expected to be transferred to Islamabad on Thursday and would be placed at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

He said compensation to the heirs of the victims would be paid according to the law. Compensation for each deceased passenger is Rs five million while Rs 0.5 million each would be given for burial. PIA has issued special telephone numbers to facilitate relatives of the deceased passengers, he added.