ISLAMABAD, July 27: The federal government is yet to submit to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) its reinvestigation report about the July 2010 Air Blue crash into the Margalla Hills that killed 152 passengers and the crew members.
While expressing its dissatisfaction over the government probe into the incident, the PHC in April this year had ordered reinvestigation by international experts.
Officials privy to the development said the reinvestigation report of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) experts was still awaited by the federal government.
An official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) close to development’s told Dawn: “Two officials from the ICAO did visit the crash site but they have not sent us the report from their headquarters in Canada.”
He added: “The ICAO officials visited Pakistan on June 13 and completed their investigation.”
When excerpts from the Safety Investigation Board’s report were submitted to the court, it rejected it. Later, a complete report was furnished to the court in April.
The PHC had, on April 26, ordered the fresh investigation into the crash by international experts because the earlier inquiry was not only found deficient and inconclusive by the court but also by the experts who had prepared it.
The court was hearing a writ petition filed by former member National Assembly (MNA) Marvi Memon and the heirs of the crash victims who have been demanding an independent inquiry into the crash and compensation under the international laws.
During the hearing, the court also ordered that for complying with the international protocol and SOPs, international experts be immediately hired and it should be the responsibility of the federal government to carry out a comprehensive inquiry.
The official maintained that Air Blue’s probe report was the only in the history of Pakistan’s aviation industry which was made public by the federal government mainly under public pressure and litigation concerns of the heirs.
Other than Air Blue, the government is yet to make public the reports of over 12 air crashes that took place during the last 60 years.
“A large number of civilian aircraft crashed during this period but the government never published any of the reports. These air crashes include the C-130 aircraft in which former President Ziaul Haq, the then director general of Inter Services Intelligence Gen Akhtar Abdur Rehman and the US ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel were killed along with a number of military officials in August 1987,” observed senior lawyer Moidur Rehman.
Pakistan’s first civilian aircraft crashed in Cairo in 1965 which resulted in the deaths of 124 people, whereas a Fokker plane crash in 1970 led to the death of 70 people.
A Bhoja Air Airbus 737 coming from Karachi crashed during a hailstorm near Islamabad in April this year. As many as 130 people along with the crew members were killed.
“Nobody has ever questioned the CAA about the investigation reports of these crashes. Even the probe report of Bhoja Airline crash is yet to be submitted to the Ministry of Defence,” added Mr Rehman.
When approached, CAA spokesman Pervez George said: “Once we get the report of the reinvestigation of the Air Blue crash we will submit it to the Peshawar High Court.”
Asked as to why the CAA had not made any of the reports of air crashes public, he mainatined: “Our job is to submit the crash report to the Ministry of Defence and it is the government to decide whether to make it public or not.”
He said CAA had always submitted its reports to the government on time and there were no delays at any stage.Regarding the Bhoja Air crash, he said an inquiry was being conducted by Mujahid Islam of SIB working under the Ministry of Defence and he must be having a better idea about the development.
