Work on fight data of crashed PIA plane to begin in France

Karachi, May 31 (IANS) Work on the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which crashed in Karachi on May 22, will begin in France on June 2, investigators said.

“The mission on site (of the crash) is about to be completed,” The Express Tribune quoted BEA, the French air safety investigation authority for civil aviation, as saying in a tweet on Saturday.

It added that Pakistani investigators would fly to France along with the French team.

The Airbus A320 plane crashed in the densely-populated Model Colony neighbourhood of Karachi, while approaching for landing at Quaid-e-Azam International Airport.

Eighty-nine passengers and eight crew members on board died in the crash, while only two onboard survived.

Under international aviation rules, BEA investigators joined the Pakistan-led inquiry because the 15-year-old jet was designed in France.

The 11-member team of the Airbus, the manufacturer of the aircraft, visited the crash site on Friday while domestic investigators recorded the statement of Air controllers, who has blamed the pilot for the crash.

The Pakistan government had notified a four-member investigating team, headed by Air Commodore Usman Ghani.

The France-based Airbus company sent a team of experts to Karachi on May 26.

Later, the team visited the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) headquarters where they were given a detailed briefing on the ongoing investigation by the Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board’s four-member investigation team.

–IANS

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