PIA plane crashed after left engine exploded: initial report

ISLAMABAD: The left engine of the ill-fated PIA PK-661 plane exploded before the crash which resultantly damaged the left wing, revealed an initial report of Civil Aviation Authority on Friday.

The plane had the capability to glide even if both engines fail. But despite this mechanism, the plane still was unable to glide and take all passengers on board to safety.

According to the report, the plane’s engine failed at a height of approximately 13, 000 feet. At that height, the plane could have glided about 15 to 25km. However, the engine after failing soon exploded and also badly damaged the left wing, leaving the aircraft unable to even glide.

The report said that the weather conditions were fine at the time of the crash and the temperature was 23 degrees centigrade.

The report further said that the data in the block box would reveal the real cause of the crash.

Sources told Geo News that the data and the black box will be sent to France for further investigation.

The sources said that the Safety Investigation Board investigating the matter will decide whether the box will be opened in Karachi or France.

PIA sources claimed that the national airliner is capable of opening, downloading and analysing data. PIA has certified specialists for it as well, sources added.

In this regard, PIA has the full support of International Safety Board (ISB), sources informed.

Earlier, PIA had confirmed that the black box of the crashed plane has been recovered. Information recovered from the flight data recorder may prove crucial to the investigation of the reasons behind the plane crash.

Moreover, DNA samples of all the relatives of the deceased passengers have been collected.

A PIA plane carrying 47 people crashed Wednesday on a domestic flight from the mountainous northern city of Chitral to Islamabad, killing all on board.

The plane took off from Chitral around 3:50PM and PIA said the plane crashed at 1642 local time (1142 GMT) in the Havelian area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 125 km north of Islamabad.