Court orders PIA, federal government to provide response for 2020 PIA crash
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has
requested the record of the staff assigned to the control tower and ordered
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the federal government to provide a detailed
response within a week regarding the aircraft crash in Karachi in May 2020,
which resulted in the deaths of 97 people.
The directive was issued by a
two-member bench of the SHC, led by Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui,
during the hearing of a petition related to the non-implementation of flight
safety regulations by the Pakistan Airline Pilots' Association (Palpa) in
connection with the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA)
lawyer presented a list of personnel present in the control tower at the time
of the accident. Chief Justice Siddiqui questioned the CAA about the actions
taken against those responsible for overseeing the aircraft’s landing, to which
the aviation authority's counsel responded that those individuals were
immediately removed from active duty.
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However, the court expressed
dissatisfaction, stating that simply removing them from duty was insufficient
given the loss of life involved. The petitioner's counsel emphasized the
seriousness of the incident, noting the 97 fatalities.
The CAA counsel revealed that,
according to the investigation report, the aircraft attempted to land without
deploying its landing gear and that visibility was obscured due to the angle of
descent.
The court inquired about the weather
conditions on the day of the crash, specifically whether fog or visibility
issues contributed to the incident, and noted that the control tower staff had
allowed the aircraft to land without the landing gear deployed.
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The CAA counsel further stated that
PIA ultimately bore responsibility for the crash. When questioned about the
number of staff stationed at the control tower, the CAA lawyer confirmed that
only two individuals were present at the time.
Justice Jawad Akbar Sarwana asked if
there was any backup staff available. The CAA lawyer described the control room
as a small space equipped with radar and other necessary equipment.
The chief justice remarked, “You are
misleading us. We are asking how many people should be deployed at the control
tower, and you are stating there were only two.”
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Justice Sarwana pointed out that
control towers in other countries are typically larger and better staffed,
adding that four years had passed without a response from the federal
government.
The court summoned the staff records
from the control tower and ordered PIA and the federal government to submit a
comprehensive reply within a week. It warned that if the reply was not
received, the aviation secretary would be required to appear in person. The
hearing of the case was adjourned until October 22.
Source:
Express Tribune