A year later, no conclusive report on tragic Karachi plane crash

 Pakistan marked on Friday a year since the deadly May 22 plane crash in Karachi which claimed 97 lives.

On May 22, 2020, a PIA plane coming from Lahore to Karachi crashed in Malir, killing 97 people, including the crew, while two people miraculously survived.

An investigation was opened into the crash by the government. A preliminary report was prepared by the  Aircraft Accident Investigation Board a month after the crash and presented in the National Assembly by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar.

But a year later, the nation still awaits a conclusive report on the crash.

The preliminary report held the  pilots and air traffic controllers responsible and ruled out any plane  malfunction.

During the ill-fated flight, the pilots made a first landing attempt and the plane briefly touched the ground multiple times, before attempting to land for a second time.

The air traffic controller did not allow the plane to land five times due to an incorrect position of the aircraft, but allowed it for the sixth time and the engine of the aircraft collided with the runway, the report said. 

It read that the voice recorder revealed that the pilots were talking about politics and coronavirus at the time of landing.

The air traffic controller twice warned that the speed and altitude of the plane were too high, the report said, adding that various alarm sounds were heard in the cockpit which were ignored by the pilot and co-pilot.

At the first landing attempt, both pilots were constantly confused on whether to land or turn around and land with the appropriate altitude and speed, it said.

The pilots did not follow the instructions of the air traffic controllers not only before landing but also during the entire flight.

The aviation minister had disclosed that the aircraft touched the runway thrice without the landing gear which caused damage to its engines. "When the plane took off again, both its engines had been damaged," he said.

Read the the preliminary investigation report below.