RAWALPINDI:
For now, the debris of the crashed Bhoja Air’s Boeing 737 lies under the open sky at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, in violation of rules.
After getting legal custody of the plane’s remains, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) unloaded them near a runway.
Discussions with serving and retired CAA officials revealed that certain rules of the authority, derived from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), are being violated.
An official on the condition of anonymity said the wreckage is needed for investigations and a detailed forensic report of the debris is required. If the remains are left in the open, certain parts could get further damaged, leading to problems in conducting a thorough probe. However, he added that he was unsure whether or not the investigators had already sent the necessary parts to forensic experts.
Moeedur Rehman, an expert on aviation law, said the wreckage is to be preserved for future studies and kept indoors after being remodelled into a skeleton aircraft. The debris is necessary to study the causes of air accidents, he said.
Syed Muhammad Anwar, a former CAA director and former legal advisor to the ICAO, said that under the rules of the authority, it is the CAA’s duty to collect and safeguard the wreckage.
CAA Spokesperson Pervaiz George explained that the authority had not done anything with the remains because the investigators are still in command. He said as long as the investigation is underway, the CAA cannot not take the debris into custody.
Problems in getting back belongings
Meanwhile, the heirs of the deceased passengers are unable to get back the luggage and personal belongings in the custody of the Koral police.
A CAA official said that the Islamabad police had written a letter to the authority asking it to take custody of the luggage for distribution.
The CAA, however, refused to collect the belongings. In a letter addressed to the Islamabad police chief, the CAA said that only the police could give away the belongings following court orders as the valuables are already in the custody of the Koral police.
Superintendent of Islamabad Police (Rural) Faisal Bashir Memon confirmed that they had written to the CAA. He added that the authority had refused to collect the belongings and now a court would decide who should distribute the passengers’ belongings.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2012.
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very sad.................... but i thing Bohja air will be good for us ...........