“My father was an extraordinary pilot,” said Tahir Pervez Iqbal while talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday. He said he would challenge it in Peshawar High Court (PHC) on the next date of hearing (January 19).
The government has released the investigation report, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.
“The captain’s behavior towards the first officer (FO) was harsh, snobbish and contrary to the established norms. This undesired activity of the captain curbed the initiative of the FO, created a tense and undesirable environment, and a very conspicuous communication barrier in the cockpit, portraying a classic crew resource management (CRM) failure. FO did not challenge the captain for his incorrect actions,” the report said.
The report is self-contradictory, said Iqbal, who is a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) holder but associated with the pharmaceutical industry in Lahore at present.
“If my father’s behaviour towards the first officer was snobbish, why did he ask him why the aircraft was not turning left?” said Tahir, adding the government was concealing the facts surrounding the incident to save air traffic control and the manufacturer of the aircraft.
Contrary to the claim in the investigation report that it was impossible to carry out a detailed autopsy or post-mortem examination on the captain’s body due to its severely charred condition, Iqbal said he had given his blood sample for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing for the identification of his father’s body but he never received the DNA report.
“My father no longer remains in this world to defend himself which is why he has been held responsible for this crash” said Iqbal.
Junaid Hamid, convener of the Airblue Crash Affectees Group (ACAG), and Col (retd) Shamim Sheikh who lost his son in the crash, appreciated Iqbal’s decision of challenging the report in court.
Reacting over the report, Col (retd) Shamim said, the government has simply said in its report that captain’s behavior was snobbish but has not revealed why he was snobbish towards the first officer. Shamim went on to add that the report did not conform to expected investigation standards, saying that 38 pages for a aircraft crash investigation report was unusually short and more like a summary of the incident submitted to appease the court due to delays on their part.
Hamid on the other hand said that ACAG’s legal team was carefully reading the investigation report which is full of loopholes and will certainly present their viewpoint to the court on the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2011.
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