• Aviation regulator names only two officials; tells SHC it had withdrawn them from active air traffic control duty

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has expressed displeasure over the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for filing an incomplete report about the officials held responsible for a passenger plane crash near the Karachi airport and directed it to file a complete inventory of individuals of traffic control and safety oversight within a week.

The lawyer for CAA filed a report naming only two officials who were deployed at control tower and approach control unit at the time of the crash and said that both the officials were immediately withdrawn from active air traffic control (ATC) duties and deployed on non-operational duties.

The two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Jawad Akbar Sarwana noted that despite passage of around four years, the federation has yet to file comments and directed the secretary aviation division to appear in person if the reply was not filed till next hearing.

The bench was hearing a petition filed in 2020 against the Pakistan International Airlines, CAA and others over a PIA passenger plane crash near the Karachi airport in May 2020 which led to loss of 97 of the 99 passengers and crew members on board.

At the previous hearing, the bench had noted that the final investigation report into the plane crash did not show the precise role and responsibility of those who may be involved in the incident while the report was also without any justification or evidence that any of the safety recommendations therein have been implemented by the CAA or the federal government which was also avoiding to file comments since 2020.

At the outset of the hearing, the counsel for CAA filed a report, submitting that deputy director approach control (ATC) Syed Fakheem Ahmed and assistant director control tower (ATC) Agha Adil Khan were deployed at ATC during the plane crash.

Both the officers were immediately withdrawn from active ATC duties and now deployed on non-operational duties while rating allowance of both of them had been suspended, it maintained.

The bench noted that the report of the CAA was found to be incomplete as the counsel was supposed to file a complete report disclosing all individuals who were supposed to be there in various provisions of Air Navigation Order including (Section 3.1.4), air traffic control (Section 3.1.5) and safety oversight (3.1.9) allowing landing of the airplane and more particularly to see and overview as far as the safety precautions were concerned.

Therefore, it directed the counsel for CAA to file a complete inventory of individuals of traffic control rooms and safety oversight within a week with advance copy to the counsel for petitioner.

The bench also noted that at the last hearing, it had put the Pakistan International Airlines and federation on notice, but the court was informed that counsel for PIA Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui was reported to be busy before the apex court and an adjournment was sought on his behalf whereas the federation has not filed their comments yet.

“Learned DAG [deputy attorney general] is of the view that despite several letters and remainders, the Secretary Aviation is not responding. In case of comments are not filed before the next hearing, the Secretary Aviation shall be in attendance. Be fixed on 11.10.2024”, it concluded.

The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan had moved the SHC about the crash of PK-8303, a PIA domestic flight originated in Lahore on May 22, which made an unsuccessful landing attempt at Karachi airport on its engines without lowering the landing gear and crashed into houses in nearby Model Colony later while trying to go around and wherein 97 passengers and crew members were killed and two passengers had miraculously survived.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2024