Islamabad: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash last month was caused by the negligence of the cockpit crew and the air control tower and not due to any technical fault, according to a preliminary investigation report on the tragedy that killed 97 people onboard.
The domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 22.
The Airbus A320 aircraft of the national carrier had 91 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed into the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on Friday, minutes before its landing. Two passengers miraculously survived the crash.
A probe was commissioned by the government with the commitment that the initial report would be shared with Parliament on June 22. But Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan handed the report to Prime Minister Imran Khan instead of Parliament.
The report showed that pilot and air traffic control officials were primarily responsible, according to officials.
The Express Tribune reported that the initial probe showed that the CAA officials, the cockpit crew, the control tower and the air traffic control repeatedly made mistakes. (PTI)