Probe blames ‘human error’ in PIA’s Karachi plane crash

Report finds poor communication between pilots, traffic controllers

The final investigation report of the Pakistan International Airline's (PIA) flight nearly four years ago, blamed “human error” and a lack of communication and harmony between the two pilots of the aircraft and air-traffic controllers, a media report said on Sunday.

A PIA Airbus A320 coming from Lahore crashed in Karachi on May 22, 2020. The catastrophic aviation disaster took lives of 99 passengers including the crew and two people on the ground. Only two passengers survived the crash.

The final investigation released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board said that the accident was caused by human error. It added that the pilot had been warned four times by the air traffic controller before landing that the plane was at extraordinary altitude.

Read more: Three years since PIA plane crash in Karachi

However, the fifth time the traffic controller allowed the plane’s landing, the findings said, adding that that there was a lack of communication and harmony between the two pilots of the aircraft and the air traffic controllers.

According to the report, the two pilots were not focused as they made the first landing attempt without opening the landing gears, during which its engines struck the runway and caught fire. The report added that the air traffic controller did not inform the pilots about the engine’s fire.

The report further said that the system that provided lubricant oil to both engines went out of order after the engine thudded the runway, stopping both engines at the same time. It added that the plane’s last four-minute data could not be recorded as engine failure cut the electricity supply.

The report also put the administrative responsibility for the accident on the PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as well. It mentioned that the CAA rules regarding the pilots’ flying plane, while fasting, were not evident.