Human error

KARACHI: This is with reference to your coverage of the Airblue crash. Whatever the reason may be, whether human error, or techinical fault, the bottom line is that Air Blue Flight ED202 hit the Margalla Hills and crashed.  It is always a human error, no matter what the cause of an air accident. Malfunctioning of aircraft is also human error, as the aircraft may not have been checked properly before taking off. Disbursement of insurance money cannot bring loved ones back to this world but it is another way to offer condolence to the affected families.

The aviation industry in Pakistan has a poor record of maintenance of aircraft whether of national airlines or private ones. The priority of the airlines is to earn revenue and not the maintenance of the aircraft or working conditions of cockpit and cabin crew. International standards are not followed in Pakistan. We just talk a lot and do nothing for the welfare of the employees. Had this air accident occured in a developed country, people would have taken the concerned authorities to task, but in Pakistan human lives seem to not matter much. What we also need to see is that the aviation industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, be pulled up for its lapses in allowing the airline to fly a plane when he had been admitted to a hospital a few months ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2010.