The transcript indicated that the ATC and radar officials were constantly alerting the pilot as he had flown into a no-go area, Basit said.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) produced the transcripts of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) on board AirBlue flight ED 202.
The CAA’s senior legal advisor, Obaidur Rehman Abbasi, produced the recording before a division bench headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan and comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth on Tuesday.
Abbasi said the transcript includes all conversations that took place between the pilot, first officer, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the officers at radar from the time of takeoff till the plane crashed.
Safety Investigation Board President Air Commodore Muhammad Abdul Basit said he had scrutinised all the documents from previous investigations and there were numerous flaws in the first investigation carried out by local investigators.
The ED 202 captain was checking the capability of the first officer, who was generally less experienced than the captain, by asking questions. The transcript indicated that the ATC and radar officials were constantly alerting the pilot as he had flown into a no-go area, Basit said. The first officer also shouted “look at the terrain ahead,” he added.
Basit rejected the possibility that the airline was targeted because the forensic reports did not mention the recovery of any explosives from the aircraft’s remains. The bench observed that the CVR report contained technical jargon and requested Basit to summarise the report and submit it to proceed further. The case was adjourned till March 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2013.
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