ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Monday began an inspection of all passenger planes operated by private airlines after a near-miss in Karachi that came just two days after a fatal crash in Islamabad.
The checks were ordered on Sunday after a Shaheen Air flight with 178 people on board narrowly avoided disaster when its left rear tyre burst after its landing gear broke as it touched down at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
On Friday, a Bhoja Air Boeing 737 came down in fields near Islamabad as it tried to land, killing all 127 people on board – Islamabad’s second major crash in less than two years.
“The CAA launched a comprehensive inspection of airplanes being flown by private airlines, from today,” CAA spokesman Pervez George told AFP.
The CAA has already received a plane from Bhoja Air for so-called “shakedown” checks by engineers, George said.
He refused to give any timeline for completion of the process, saying “it is difficult to say how much time the inspectors will take to examine each plane and all its systems”.
“We have asked all the private airlines to reschedule their domestic and international flights during the inspection so the passengers do not have to suffer,” he added.
Inspection work will begin with Bhoja Air planes before moving on to Shaheen Air International and Airblue.
George said planes from the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had shakedown checks a few months ago and would not be subject to the special inspection.
Another Shaheen flight with more than 100 passengers bound for the Iranian city of Mashhad was prevented from taking off at Lahore on Sunday after a fuel overflow during refuelling, George said.
In July 2010 an Airbus jet operated by Airblue crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi, killing 152 people in the worst air disaster ever on Pakistani soil.
COMMENTS (25)
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CAA auditor cannot check the scrapped rejection register because many aircraft engineer released item as a serviceable parts and installed in aircraft. if you want i can proof it.
CAA will start inspection, really they wake up, omg before they have been sleeping. What a joke with nation..........
There's a novel concept --- inspecting planes to make sure there safe to fly -- welcome to the 21st century.
If these airplane were parked in Karachi or have checkered inspection record the FAA requires that then they need to go through equivalent of Type B Maintenance anything short will repeat what happened with Bhoja. Type B maintenance on the average will take 1 month for a fully equipped facility. Suggestion of 2 ~ 3 day inspection tantamount to absolute incompetence of who ever has suggested this.
What were they doing so far------ sleeping?
Victim's family SHOULD NOT accept insurance peanuts and ask for damages by dragging the responsibles to court in my advise. We all see how easily the incident of Air Blue last year was burried under a 40+ pages report.
Insuarnce from Moscow, old plane, ex-boss of PIA who has majority shares in Bhoja Air is enough to influence CAA for permits.. that whole process of flight clearences is fishy. The victim's family should take the Bhoja air and CAA to supreme court of Pakistan.
Why was this exercise not undertaken before the tragic crash claiming over one hundred lives? This clearly shows how careless the Government is! Still PIA planes have been left out of this belated inspection. Not for nothing, did the European Union ban all PIA flights to EU only a few years back. CAA must check for safety all PIA planes that are still operational or the Defense Department should as PIA comes under it.
CAA should be awarded for taking their job seriously after hundreds of precious lives have been lost.
After just a few weeks everything will come back to "normal". People will go back to their air conditioned offices at CAA to engage in gup shup and chai pani.
About time!
Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
I really wish to open up our Skies for Middle East airlines... revamp our National Carrier and put strict international safety regulations in Place. Few good administrate decisions will make the PIA rise again.
Currently Fare from Dubai to Karachi is Cheaper than Lahore to Karachi.
Shouldn't the Civil Aviation Authority be performing such inspections on a routine basis anyway?
"CAA begins checks on private airline planes" after loss of hundreds of passengers and two aircrafts in less than two years.
Good show CAA - Keep it up!
These airlines should be barred from flying / carrying out operations until these inspections are completed & certified by Competent Authorities preferrably Boeing / Airbus (former has already offerred technical assistance) & lead by a local team who should be taken to task, should any section of the certification report turns out to be exagerated, missed or flasified by sentence of "Life Imprisonment"! Harsh, absolutely not as enough is enough, "Human lives cannot be considered to be so cheap in this country"!
Better late than never! Unfortunately It has taken an air crash with 127 lives, and two near disasters, immediately henceforth, for CAA to wake up from its slumber. To common understanding, it is the prime responsibility of CAA, to esure that all machines flying in National Airspace are 100% airworthy.
hopefully it will bring some security to air traveling, and will not become another door to corruption.
CAA: Please do work professionally and honestly instead of giving statements......
Have CAA Considered #PIA planes 4 maintanace who are on Waivers/Warnings since Months/Years
I believe Still Politically hired people havn't thought of it ...
Bhooja's License was cancelled due to bad maintenance procedures, but still the License was Re-newed by CAA or should i say Some Friend of Islamabad .
wht abt PIA ... waiting for an crash to initiate their chks
better late than never . May Allah keep all of us in safety .
At Last CAA awakes for Private Airlines But ... What about Those #PIA Aircraft which are on Maintanace Waivers / Warnings Since Last year in Local & International Flights.
CAA should take this decision before that major accident last week. Nevertheless, I hope that CAA will now implement its decision sincerely.
Why can't be these 'shakedowns' scheduled? Why in this country we need sacrifice of innocent lives to secure the safe future of commercial aviation?
If the investors fear revenue losses due to extensive maintenance and safety checks then don't invest in this industry, must you meagrely invest into murderous flying coffins?