People stand amid the debris of Bhoja Air Boeing 737 crash on the outskirts of Islamabad on April 25, 2012. PHOTO: AFP
The Express Tribune had reported the investigation's details and findings a year ago. The CAA’s report confirmed those findings that the unfortunate plane was a Boeing 737-236a – an advanced version of the Boeing 737-200 – on which the pilots had not been trained by the airline. The CAA report notes that the “ineffective automated flight deck management in extreme adverse weather conditions by cockpit crew caused the accident.”
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“Incorrect selection of cockpit crew on account of their inadequate flying experience, training and competence level for Boeing 737-236A (advanced version of Boeing 737-200 series), absence of formal simulator training in respect of FO for handling an automated flight deck, non-existence of cockpit crew professional competence / skill level monitoring system at operator level (Bhoja Air).”
According to the report, the cockpit crew made an incorrect decision to continue the flight for destination and non- adherence to Boeing recommended remedial actions, procedures due to non-availability of customised aircraft documents (at Bhoja Air) for Boeing 737-236A (advanced version of Boeing 737-200 series) contributed to the accident.
The report also found that CAA Pakistan was unable to ensure automated flight deck variance type training and monitoring requirements primarily due to incorrect information provided by the Bhoja Air and that it was a contributory factor in the accident.
In January 2014, The Express Tribune had reported that Bhoja had bought the aircraft after obtaining all relevant checks and approvals in January 2012. On the 12th of that month, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority’s inspectors Shaukat Hameed and Javed Afzal undertook a detailed inspection of the aircraft at Johannesburg.
They pointed out 28 discrepancies, which ranged from peeled-off paint to a fan blade of one engine sporting a cut. They also examined the waviness of the blade. All defects were removed in following weeks.
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Poor weather, lighting and low visibility, timed-our aircraft and untrained crew, all are these the causes of the tragedy. Certainly the CAA and Airliner are responsible for murdering 127 people.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui:
Yes Bhoja Air Paid Rs. 5 Million each pax, total 127 on board and given compensation to 125 deceased pax.
It is normal for Aircraft Accident Reports to be issued after 1.5 to 2.5 years of investigation. I think although the report was not perfect, but CAA did a good job with the investigation. We should not criticise everything under the sun.
@excalibur: the whole transcript of chat between pilots and ATC is in the report . Did you even care to read it ? All the information from black box is also present in the report .
Most of the commentators are commenting without actually reading the report . Yes , pilot is to be blamed also for this crash . Read the report from page 9 onwards . Flight officer is singing songs to ATC and when ATC asks FO if he needs another route , FO invokes Allah ! This is how we drive cars of roads and this is how we fly planes by invoking the name of Allah and expects the divine being to protect us from our follies .
Dead pilots tell no tales and neither can they defend themselves. I believe there is a Black Box flight recorder as well . No mention of it or what it had to say Pathetic
The incompetence of CAA and all relevant departments is evident from the picture. It is a crash site, people walking by, kids playing with the debris. What kind of evidence are you going to collect from this crash site?
Blame the Pilot who is already dead and save the rest.
This report is absolute farce. The training on the -200 simulators covers all variants including the 236. Any report worth its dime should have mentioned the existence of wind shears that were in the area, which is what caused this unfortunate accident, the rapid loss of altitude is a clear indication of such an event.
We as a nation are quick to assign blame but the bigger picture here is that this tragedy could have been avoided if LLWAS (Low level Windshear Alert Systems), were mandated at all airports. This system is relatively cheap and I believe is a requirement for most airports around the world.
It shows that it was a regulatory and compliance issue. CAA and Airline owners must be punished. But its Pakistan.
As an aviation expert its hard to sallow this reasoning. In the bad weather conditions, aircrafts can not have smooth landing and it is a possibility that crew was not experience, then why the flight was allowed. The main problem is CAA Air Traffic Controller. Even in USA and EU the runways not capable of CAT II/III weather conditions are shut down for landing. Islamabad airport does not have CAT II/III runway, which require advance ILS system, touch down lightings etc. Then why the RWY was not closed for landing? Why in such a low visibility conditions, aircraft was clear for landing and not diverted to the other airport?
Wow that is huge management failure. How were they allowed to do this? CAA should ensure pilots are trained on exact aircrafts, its standard procedure anywhere in the world!
Bhoja Air, a name lost in the thin air when it's first inaugural flight took off from Jinnah Terminal and was unable to land safely at Islamabad Aiport and crashed near Margalla Hills, killing all its passengers and crew members.
So once again the dead pilot will be blamed and not a single CAA official will be punished. If bhoja Air provided the wrong information in the variant of Boeing, how come CAA officials who were suppose to inspect the aircraft did not realize it? They pointed out useless discrepancies like peeling off of a small paint but did not realize the variant they were inspecting. Yet only the dead pilot is responsible and life goes on without any punishments.
CAA should be prosecuted and punished for being follower of pakistan judiciary, report surfaced after 2 and half year
It was lust of money which compelled the owners of Bhoja Air to dispatch its inaugural flight from Karachi to Islamabad without taking into consideration of international safety standards.
Did Bhoja Air owners paid compensation to the deceased passengers and crew members?
What action has been taken by the sitting government against the owners of Bhoha Air?
Now that we have the cat out of the bag, who is going to be responsible for this tragedy and who is going to ensure that such an event does not happen again due to negligence, under-training and disregard of operational safety procedures?
Shameful that it took 3 years to come out with this. What measures will be taken to prevent such incidents in future? Whats going to change?
As usual no big wolf from Bhoja or CAA would be arrested and punished