Pakistan plane crash is PIA airline’s ‘TENTH air disaster since 2000’ as it emerges families of 48 victims are to receive only £3,700 in compensation
THE fatal Pakistan plane crash that claimed 48 lives yesterday was the airline’s 10th disaster since 2000, it has emerged.
Pakistan International Airlines has offered the families of all the victims £3,700 (Rs. 500,000) in compensation – but concerns remain over the company’s safety record.
The fatal Pakistan plane crash that claimed 48 lives yesterday was the airline’s 10th disaster since 2000Credit
Pilot Salehyar Janjua is said to have made a “mayday call” moments before the plane crashed into a remote mountain in Abbottabad
Pakistani soldiers were among those called in to search for victims among the wreckageCredit: Getty Images
In the past 16 years, the airline has been hit by 10 plane crashes, including one in 2006 which claimed 41 lives when the aircraft smashed into a tree during take-off.
The devastating crash on Wednesday, which saw all passengers and crew on board killed, is the company’s worst on record.
“Engine failure” has been stated as the cause of the disaster, stirring new worries about the money-losing state carrier.
Pakistan International Airlines has offered the families of all the victims £3,700 (Rs. 500,000) in compensation
The devastating crash on Wednesday, which saw all passengers and crew on board killed, is the company’s worst on record
Pilot Salehyar Janjua is said to have called the control tower at 4.09pm local time to say the engine had developed a technical problem.
He then made a “mayday call” moments before the plane crashed into a remote mountain in Abbottabad.
Airline chairman Muhammad Azam Saigol insisted the ATR-42 aircraft had undergone regular maintenance, including an “A-check” certification in October.
“I want to make it clear that it was a perfectly sound aircraft,” Mr Saigol.
The scorched bones of the victims were wrapped in cloth in bundlesCredit: Getty Images
“I think there was no technical error or human error. Obviously there will be a proper investigation.”
PIA has come under intense scrutiny following the crash, with some pointing out the number of crashes since 2000.
In July 2006, a Fokker F-27 plane crashed shortly after taking off from Multan on a flight to Lahore, killing all 41 on board.
An investigation found that the engine failure resulted from poor maintenance in its previous overhaul.
Witnesses told of hellish scenes at the crash site, which reportedly stank of burning fleshCredit: Alamy
There were no fatalities in the other eight crashes since 2000.
Four planes were written off after landing accidents and two following take-off problems.
In 2004, a Fokker F27 plane carrying 40 people failed to stop on the runway and slipped into nearby fields.
The tyres burst with a loud noise, but no one was injured.
Rescue workers have spoken about the nightmarish scenes at the site of the Pakistan plane crash on Wednesday.
Altaf Hussain, a rescue worker who transported the remains of passengers in an ambulance, said the hellish crash site smelled of burnt flesh and oil and that body parts were scattered everywhere.
