Pakistani news media specially Samaa new reported that Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has “held the Pakistan International Airlines responsible for the 2016 Havelian crash in which 48 passengers, including religious scholar Junaid Jamshed, were killed”. This turns out to be factually incorrect and Aviation division in a press release contradicted the version of Samaa in a press release. The press release stated that “the misleading news reported on social media regarding preliminary investigation report is not based on facts”.
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The press release further said that “During the hearing of CP-7050 in Sindh High Court on 27th October 2020, representative of Aviation Division and President Aircraft Accident Investigation Board appeared before the Honourable Court and apprised the Court with an overview of the present status of the investigation into the crash of PIA flight PK 661. The overview did not include any conclusions of the Investigation but included a request about the tentative timeline due to completion of an important international obligation, to which the honourable Court graciously agreed”.
Samaa in its news report falsely claimed that “the aviation authority submitted its initial report in the Sindh High Court on Tuesday. The report said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board has held the national carrier responsible for the accident”. The fact of the matter is that there is no report ready yet and PCAA went to the court to ask for more time. That is why Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked about the final investigation report. “Where is the final report”? He went on to say that “the accident occurred n 2016 and you still haven’t completed the investigation.”
The CAA in its reply said that the plane was manufactured by three countries. The reports from France and Canada have been submitted and the US has yet to submit the report on overhauling and acceleration. To this, the court has given the authority till November 19 to submit the report.
The news report by Samaa also presents a new dimension to what PCAA and people working on the crash have told. According to the so-called “report” that only Samaa knows “the pilot encountered a very complex technical error. The accident was caused by a broken turbine blade. The blade breaks due to the irregularities in the maintenance of the plane. The experts said that this type of error has never been reported before. In such a situation, it was impossible for the pilot to control the aircraft”. While so far it has been reported that the plane’s propellers encountered a problem and they were the reason the plane fell from the sky. Also, ATR engineers and pilots have asked that if broken blade rendered one engine useless the other one is capable enough to fly the plane to safety.
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