News Analysis |
Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a ruling on Monday declaring the administration of Bhoja Airlines to be at fault regarding the Bhoja plane crash incident. A Supreme Court (SC) bench with Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on board presided over the ruling.
Otherwise known as Bhoja Air Flight 213 (registered AP-BKC), the aircraft was an outdated Boeing 737 built for Birtish Airways in the 1980s. On official records, the aircraft met its fatal end due to a combination of bad weather conditions and pilot error.
However, a number of other issues have also come to light regarding Flight 213 that had consequences for Bhoja Airlines itself. The company although no longer in operation was founded in 1993, had to relaunch in 2012 and underwent its demise on the same day of re-launch.
Flight 213 of Bhoja Airlines crashed three nautical miles away from its destination in a residential colony close to Benazir International Airport where it was destined from Karachi.
Once the hearing began, a report detailing the lack of training of the pilot and staff rendering them incapable of coping with emergencies was presented. Flight 213 had a crew of six people on its final flight of which cockpit recordings for Flight Officer Javed and Captain Noor indicated panic, shouting, confused responses and lack of recovery action.
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It was ruled that the pilot had little or no experience in flying a passenger aircraft nor was he given the relevant training. Moreover, the Civil Aviation Authority admitted that Bhoja Air engineers were not cleared to provide air worthiness certificate. A notice to not attempt a flight or landing in bad weather conditions was also confirmed prior to the fatal flight.
Another addition to the charge list is the fact that Flight 213 was not approved for passenger cargo while not fulfilling legal requirements of its license from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In the wake of the incident, the CAA attracted the ire of the public for allowing incompetent airline staff and equipment to be operated under political pressure.
Flight 213 had a crew of six people on its final flight of which cockpit recordings for Flight Officer Javed and Captain Noor indicated panic, shouting, confused responses and lack of recovery action.
The CAA refuted such claims and cancelled the license of Bhoja Airlines in May 2012 for not meeting minimum requirement of 3 aircraft per fleet. Most notably, however, Bhoja Airlines has yet to provide compensation to victim’s families who protested in Karachi earlier the same year. Thus the verdict came to end on ‘Criminal Negligence’ on part of Bhoja Airlines which violated CAA policies and permission.
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Flight 213 of Bhoja Airlines crashed three nautical miles away from its destination in a residential colony close to Benazir International Airport where it was destined from Karachi. Pakistani airlines were once among the most reputed in the world, but corrupt officials and improper management of money flows has even made PIA struggle. It comes to no surprise that smaller privately-owned airlines like Bhoja would encounter such mishaps. Unfortunately for CEO Farooq Bhoja, Monday’s verdict was the final nail in the coffin.