February 24, 2003	Monday	Zul Hijjah 22, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: Initial investigations into Thursday’s VIP plane crash near Kohat that killed Pakistan Air Force chief Air Marshal Mushaf Ali and 16 others on board suggest it was due to a pilot error, Dawn has learnt through reliable sources.

At this stage there are clear indications that the Fokker-27 crash was not caused by technical fault in the aircraft, sabotage or inclement weather, say sources close to the government. The Fokker crashed into a mountain peak, most likely because of a human error of judgment, they maintain.

“Initial findings point to an error of judgment in flying and not to a technical defect, sabotage or entirely the weather,” sources told Dawn on Sunday.

Findings at this stage indicate that apparently at the time of the crash the skies were almost clear with only some clouds near the mountain peaks.

What seems clear is that had the plane started descent a few seconds later the crash could have been averted, sources said.

“Had the plane started descent around 20 seconds later the mid-air disaster could have been prevented,” informed sources said, adding that it appears that if the aircraft had been flying only 30 feet higher it would not have collided with the mountain peak.

Aviation experts say the fact that with a Fokker it is not an instrument landing but vision landing it is possible for a pilot flying this plane to misjudge.

“While PAF pilots are reputed to be the safest, a slight detour from the flight path can be taken for several reasons,” a former PAF official observed.

Meanwhile, a high-level inquiry board investigating the Fokker-27 crash has already started working on the preliminary report. Unlike the still unexplained 1988 crash of PAF C-130 aircraft near Bahawalpur, the present government seems committed to making public the findings of the inquiry into the latest disaster.

On Friday Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal held out the assurance that the findings of the inquiry board would be made public.