AirBlue Airbus A321-231 (AP-BJB) plane crashed into Islamabad's Margalla Hills - July 28, 2010
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AirBlue Airbus A321-231 (AP-BJB) plane crashed into Islamabad's Margalla Hills - July 28, 2010 |
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Airblue Flight 202 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight which crashed on 28 July 2010 near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing all 146 passengers and six crew aboard. It is the deadliest air accident to occur in Pakistan to date. The aircraft, an Airblue operated Airbus A321-231 narrow-body jet airliner, crashed in the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad during a flight from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport to Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Air traffic controllers reportedly lost contact with the flight crew during its attempt to land in dense fog and heavy monsoon rain. The accident was the first fatal crash involving an Airbus A321, a long variant of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range airliners. Based in Islamabad, Airblue is Pakistan's second largest airline with over 30% share of the domestic market. At the time of the accident the airline operated seven aircraft, all in the A320 family. The aircraft that crashed was an Airbus A321-231, registered AP-BJB, manufacturer's serial number 1218, which was built in 2000. This was the first fatal crash for the A321, and the second hull-loss of the type. The aircraft had originally been delivered to Aero Lloyd and used by Aero Flight before being taken up by Airblue in 2006. It had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights. The flight left Karachi at 07:50 local time (01:50 UTC). Initial reports suggested that flight controllers at Benazir Bhutto International Airport lost contact with the aircraft at 09:43 local time (03:43 UTC) after they delayed its landing 13 minutes earlier. It was reported that the poor weather had forced controllers to divert another aircraft attempting to land 30 minutes before the crash. While the BBC reported that officials stated that "there was nothing in conversations between the pilot and the Islamabad control tower that suggests anything was wrong", The New York Times gave an account of.***munications between the aircraft and the ground that indicated otherwise. The newspaper claimed that the pilots were warned that they were flying away from the runway, to which the pilot responded "I can see the runway". The controller then told the flight crew to "immediately turn left, Margalla [Hills] are ahead", before the pilot again replied "we can see it". An airline official stated that the pilots did not send any emergency signals prior to the crash. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik stated that the plane was at 2,600 feet as it approached Islamabad but went back up to 3,000 feet before eventually crashing. One witness on the ground, who was out walking, stated that "the plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down". Others described the plane as being lower than it should have been. "I wondered why the plane wasn't flying higher as it was flying towards the hill", one stated. "Then within three or four minutes I heard a loud explosion". Another said that "it was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office". Imran Abbasi told The New York Times that he "could tell it was trouble because it stayed so low even though the mountains were up ahead". He stated that the jet was "flying as low as a four-story building". It was reported that Mr. Abbasi said that "as the aircraft started to turn, the right side of its front banged into the highest mountain, emitting an instant billow of blue fire and black smoke". An Indian television station stated that a woman told them she didn't "think [the flight crew] could see where they were going". The plane was found near Daman-e-Koh viewing point in the Margalla Hills outside Islamabad. The Los Angeles Times reported that "television footage of the crash site showed smoke and burning debris strewn in a swathe cutting through the forest. Rescue helicopters hovered overhead. Fire was visible, and smoke was blowing up from the scene." A statement on Airblue's website stated that "Airblue, with great sadness, announces the loss of flight ED 202 inbound from Karachi to Islamabad. The flight crashed during poor weather and thick fog. We regret the loss of life and are investigating the exact circumstances of this tragedy. This will be presented as soon as possible." The statement continued that "our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew." The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan immediately launched an investigation into the accident. Airbus stated that they would provide full technical assistance to Pakistani authorities. Officials have denied earlier reports that the "black box" have been found. The investigators are still searching for the flight data recorder, also known as the FDR. Video Length - 372 seconds Video Tags - airblue, airbus, a321-231, (ap-bjb), flight, 202, plane, crashed, into, islamabad's, margalla, hills, civil, aviation, authority, benazir, bhutto, international, airport, black, box, |
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