March 16, 2003	Sunday	Muharram 12, 1424

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KOHAT, March 15: The operation to collect the wreckage of the PAF Fokker that crashed into Taulanj mountains on Feb 20 has been completed by the army and air force personnel of the Koh-i-Paima Unit.

The Pakistan Air Force chief, his wife and all the 15 others on board were killed in the crash.

The debris was packed in gunny bags and wooden crates, and transported to the air headquarters for investigation, PAF sources told Dawn on Saturday.

“Efforts have been made to collect every bit of the plane despite the rain that came intermittently during the last 24 days,” said an official.

Since 1961, the official said, it was the third air crash in the mountains which meant that the route, due to some reason, was a dangerous one and investigators would pay attention to this aspect. He said preliminary reports had called the cause of the crash as pilot’s error due to poor visibility because of heavy fog and drizzle. The Fokker collided with a huge rock after it had landed on a small, flat portion of the mountain, he pointed out.

At least 15 people, including the tower staff, are being interrogated to ascertain whether there was a mistake by those controlling the aircraft from the ground. The pilot had to rely on the instructions from the tower , he said.