Pakistan Still Investigating Cause of Last Week’s Plane Crash
FlyerTalk May 28, 2020
Manchester International Airport, England, United Kingdom - March 11, 2014. Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200 on approach to land.
Last week, on May 22, a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed with 100 people on board. In total, 97 bodies were pulled from the rubble in Karachi, Pakistan where the crash occurred. Two passengers survived.
The survivors recount that, shortly before it crashed, the plane jolted violently in midair. Then, the pilot came onto the intercom to warn that there was engine trouble and that the landing would be “troublesome.”
The plane crashed near Jinnah International Airport and destroyed or heavily damaged 18 houses. Eight people on the ground were injured, three are still hospitalized.
Pakistan International Airlines Chairman Arshad Malik told reporters Friday in Karachi that an independent inquiry would be held. He said the aircraft was in good working order.
The aircraft’s black box has been recovered and will be turned over to authorities, Khan told Reuters. The device contains flight data and a cockpit voice recording.
The pilot did not inform ATC that the landing gear had not extended and carried on as if nothing happened (listen to the ATC chatter). The pilot kept saying that "we are comfortable ....." despite repeated audio alarms going off in the cockpit and ignored ATC question as to a belly landing. Unfortunately, sometimes, arrogance and ego get in the way of adhering to standard operation procedures (SOP's) and crashes that could have been avoided happen. Their overconfidence and thinking too much of their own skill and experience get in the way of logical thinking. The pilot "knew better". Had the same situation occurred in the USA, the crash impact would have been mitigated and many lives could have been saved.
The pilot attempted a gear up/belly landing only to abort after both engines struck the ground. He did not inform ATC he was landing without gear down. After he aborted his first attempt he executed a crash and go and throttled up. While circling back to the airport for a second gear up touch down both engines failed and the plane crashed well short of the runway. Photos of the plane in flight with the damaged engines as well as the scars on the runway where the engines impacted https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pakistan-airliner-landed-gear-up-on-first-try-report/
Such a sad event amidst our times of turmoil. Even more sad if the flight was a repatriation flight. I do wonder where the survivors were sitting though.