ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: The Senate standing committee on defence here on Saturday directed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to submit its investigation report on the July 10 Fokker crash near Multan by the end of this month along with a lists of all other crashes and their reasons.

Presided over by Nisar Memon, the standing committee members expressed concern over the fact that the airline did not provide proper rest to its flight crew, adding that most of the members believed that it could be the main cause of the Multan crash.

They said the airline’s management had informed the committee that the investigations had confirmed a technical fault in one of the engines of the Fokker, but that could not be the main or the only reason for the crash as the Fokker could easily land using only one engine.

However, the airline officials rejected speculations that the crash had occurred after the plane had hit electricity wires, sources added.

Sources quoting Mushahid Hussain Sayyed as saying that despite the fact that parliamentary secretary for defence had termed Fokker as “flying coffin” just a few days before the Multan crash, the national carrier had yet to take measures to remove its technical weaknesses.

They quoted the senator as saying that PIA had not yet brought about substantial changes in its operation and efficiency.