Transparent probe into PK-661 crash demanded

ISLAMABAD: AirBlue Crash Affectees Association (ACAA) and Bhoja Air Crash Families Association (BACFA) feel deeply aggrieved on the sad demise of all forty three passengers and five crew members in the fateful accident, says a press release on Thursday.

They demanded a transparent and impartial investigation of this latest incident by an independent body not under the influence of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and making its report public at the earliest. On the International Civil Aviation Day i.e. on 7th December 2016, Pakistani aviation witnessed another disaster when PIA Flight PK-661 crashed near Havelian while en-route from Chitral to Islamabad.

They pray to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant the bereaved families the strength and patience to bear the irreparable loss. The members of ACAA and BACFA not only sympathise with the bereaved families and feel their pain but also offer them full moral support and advices based on their experiences.

“Our officials remained at BBIAP Islamabad on the evening of 7th December to meet and assist the bereaved families that were there. They may contact the officials of ACAA. We would also like to record our disappointment with the attitude of the carriers and regulators of civil aviation matters in the country.

In the past six years there have been a number of fateful accidents within the country in which more than 350 lives have been lost and a large number of families have been left devastated. These incidents speak about the apathy of both the regulators and air operators towards flight safety and passenger rights. This latest tragedy has once again exposed the gaping holes in the system and Standard Operating Procedures currently in place (or lack of it) in the civil aviation sector in the country,” they say.