KARACHI: The pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)’s crashed plane ignored three warnings from the air traffic controllers about the aircraft’s altitude and speed before the landing, saying he was satisfied and would handle the situation, according to a report on Monday.
The national flag carrier’s PK-8303 tragedy on Friday, in which 97 people were killed and two miraculously survived, is one of the most catastrophic aviation disasters in the country’s history.
The Airbus A-320 from Lahore to Karachi was 15 nautical miles from the Jinnah International Airport, flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet above the ground instead of 7,000 when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) issued its first warning to lower the plane’s altitude, Geo News quoted an ATC report as saying.
Instead of lowering the altitude, the pilot responded by saying that he was satisfied. When only 10 nautical miles were left till the airport, the plane was at an altitude of 7,000 feet instead of 3,000 feet, it said. The ATC issued a second warning to the pilot to lower the plane’s altitude.
However, the pilot responded again by stating that he was satisfied and would handle the situation, saying he was ready for landing, the report said. The report said the plane had enough fuel to fly for two hours and 34 minutes, while its total flying time was recorded at one hour and 33 minutes. Pakistani investigators are trying to find out if the crash is attributable to a pilot error or a technical glitch.
According to a report prepared by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the plane’s engines had scraped the runway thrice on the pilot’s first attempt to land, causing friction and sparks recorded by the experts.