July 14, 2006	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 17, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 13: PIA on Thursday sought help of foreign experts to provide specialist advice to the board of inquiry probing the Fokker crash.

According to PIA’s Public Affairs and Communication Division, the airline has invited a three-member team from aircraft and engine manufacturers to take part in the investigation. “These experts from the Fokker Services, Rolls Royce and Air Safety Investigation Team will join hands with the CAA board of inquiry and provide specialist advice,” a statement said.

However, the Pakistan Airline Pilot’s Association (Palpa) rejected the move as farce and an eyewash.

Association president Captain Khalid Hamza told Dawn that calling experts from Fokker, a company that has ended its operations, and Rolls Royce, which no more produces Dart engines used in the Fokker, was incomprehensible.

He said he had failed to understand why the PIA was reluctant to involve the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (Ifalpa), which was reputed for its accident analysis work and accredited with international civil aviation bodies and whose impartiality was proven.

“Ifalpa could have provided PIA its services free of cost, or else Palpa would have borne the expenses,” he added.

Captain Hamza feared this was being done to keep Palpa out of the inquiry and put the entire blame on the pilot of the crashed Fokker.

“I suspect that the evidence is being tampered to hold the deceased pilot responsible,” he said while referring to the recovery of parts of the engine of the Fokker from Multan airport’s runway.

He said initially it was reported that some fluid was falling from the aircraft along with flames of fire, but now they had come up with parts falling off as the aircraft took off.

The purpose of the inquiry, he said, should not to be to put the blame on someone, but to prevent such accidents in future and ensure flight safety.

This, he believed, was possible only if an independent and competent body was involved in the probe.