Pakistan finds 'human error' in deadly Karachi plane crash
Islamabad: Pakistan's aviation minister has said that human error" on the part of the pilot, the co-pilot and air traffic control caused last month's Pakistan International Airlines crash in the port city of Karachi that killed 97 people.
The announcement shed new light on the tragedy after Pakistani investigators earlier said only that the crash resulted from engine failure.
It also revealed previously unconfirmed details, including that the plane had made a failed attempt at landing during which its engines apparently scraped the runway, causing significant damage.
The plane went down in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport on May 22, just days after Pakistan lifted restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic and resumed domestic flights ahead of the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Pakistan had been in a countrywide lockdown since mid-March because of the virus. When flights resumed in May, every other seat on planes was left vacant to promote social distancing, including on the doomed Pakistan International Airlines flight.
There were only two survivors of the Airbus A320 crash, which was carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members. A 13-year-old girl from the neighbourhood where the plane went down was critically injured and later died in a hospital.
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, presenting preliminary findings in Pakistan's probe into the crash in parliament, said the pilot ignored instructions from air traffic control while trying to land.
According to the cockpit voice recorder, which was later found among the debris on the ground, the pilots had discussed the coronavirus throughout the flight, which had apparently affected their families.
Pakistan reported 60 more COVID-19 deaths, increasing its fatalities from the new coronavirus to 3,755. Pakistan has reported 188,926 cases since February when it reported its first confirmed case.
In a bid to contain the virus, Pakistan's government has sealed off high-risk residential areas across the country.
The crash took place when the plane attempted to land a second time. Air traffic control told the pilot three times that the plane was too low to land but he refused to listen, saying he would manage, Khan said.
The minister added that for its part, air traffic control did not inform the pilots about damage caused to the engines after the plane's first failed landing attempt.
The engines of the plane were damaged when they scraped the runway but the air traffic control did not inform the pilot, he said.
Thus, pilots and ATC both did not follow protocols, Khan told the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Khan insisted the plane's crew was healthy and the Airbus A320 was completely fit to fly and had no technical fault prior to the crash.
A full report on the crash is expected in a year's time. He said both the pilot and the co-pilot were extremely experienced but due to overconfidence and lack of focus, the tragedy took place.
Just minutes before the crash, the flight crew declared an emergency and stated that both engines had failed, Khan read from the report.
The aircraft crashed about 1,340 meters short of the runway, he said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
