According to an official brief released by the engineering and maintenance department of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday, the last check of Airbus A-320 that crashed into a residential area near Karachi airport a day ago, was done on March 21, 2020, and it had flown from Muscat to Lahore a day before the crash.
The report added that there was “no defect related to the engine, landing gear or major aircraft system”.
The summary further said the health of both engines was “satisfactory” and maintenance checks were being performed at intervals.
The report also revealed that the aeroplane was declared fit for flights till Nov 5, 2020 by the CAA.
Sources said the first certificate of airworthiness was issued to Airbus A320-200 on Nov 6, 2014 to Nov 5, 2015. And after every year the airworthiness certificate was issued following a complete check of the plane.
The aircraft manufacturer Airbus in a statement said the aircraft in question had logged around 47,100 flight hours and 25,860 flight cycles and was powered by CFM56-5B4/P engines.
The company said it is providing full technical assistance to Pakistani authorities in charge of the investigation.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the site of the crash, a PIA spokesman said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
“The black box had been found late yesterday; we are handing it over to the inquiry board,” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan said, clarifying that both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were found.
The federal government on Friday constituted an investigation team to probe the crash.
The investigation team would be headed by Air Commodore Muhammad Usman Ghani, President of the Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board.
He will be assisted by Wing Commander Malik Muhammad Imran, Additional Director of Technical Investigation; Group Captain Touqeer, Ops Investigator, Pakistan Air Force Safety Board, Kamra; and Nasir Majeed, Joint Director of ATC Ops, AAIB.
According to a notification issued by the Aviation Division, the investigation team would exercise powers conferred under CAA Rules, 1994, and submit its report to the division within the shortest possible time. However, a preliminary statement would be issued within a month from the date of the notification.
Earlier, the Pakistan Airlines’ Pilots Association (Palpa) had demanded a thorough investigation into the aircraft crash by involving the association and international bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organisation and International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations.
It also suggested that in addition to the technical investigation into the aircraft’s health prior to the flight, investigators must consider the working conditions of the ground staff and flight crew.
“We will not accept the way the investigation carried out in the past and will not accept any inquiry into this accident without the inclusion of Palpa,” Captain Imran Narejo, the association’s general secretary, said.
“We appeal to the PIA management and the government to immediately order an inquiry into the incident and make its report available as soon as possible,” he added.
