Interior minister assures transparent investigation of PIA plane crash

An 11-member investigating team of Airbus reached Pakistan today from France to probe into the PIA plane crash

Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah on Tuesday assured that a transparent investigation will be conducted into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft's crash as per the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He made the remarks during his visit to the residence of late pilot Sajjad Gul in Lahore where he condoled with the bereaved family and offered prayed for the departed soul.

"The country lost national assets in the form of precious lives in the plane crash," he said. "Death of Captain Sajjad Gul is a major loss not only to the PIA but the entire country."

Earlier today, an 11-member investigating team of Airbus reached Pakistan from France to probe into the PIA plane crash.

The specialists will visit the plane crash site area in Model Colony and also provide technical assistance to their Pakistani counterparts to probe the reasons for the crash.

The Airbus experts are expected to take the aircraft’s black box recorder which contains the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder and any other evidence that would help with the investigation.

The team will fly back to France at 10pm tonight after 16-hours of investigation.

PIA’s Airbus A320 crashed in the residential area of Model Colony near the Karachi airport on May 22, minutes before landing. The plane flying from Lahore to Karachi had 99 persons on board including passengers and crew.

Only two people survived the tragic incident. Other victims of the crash were laid to rest in Karachi.