KARACHI: Since independence, the country has witnessed 13 air crashes, none of which have been investigated even after assurances by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the government.
Sources told Pakistan Today that orders were issued for their investigation from time to time, but not a single report of any crash was made public.
The situation is so distressing that even the investigation reports on plane crashes of former president Gen Ziaul Haq and Air Chief Marshal Mashaf Ali Mir have not seen the light of the day.
On August 17, 1988 a US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashed near Bahawalpur, killing military ruler Ziaul Haq and 30 others, including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador, and on February 19, 2003, an air force Fokker F27 crashed in fog-shrouded mountains near Kohat, killing Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, his wife and 15 others.
Following is the chronology of other major air crashes in Pakistan or involving Pakistani planes. On May 20, 1965, a PIA Boeing 707 crashed on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.
On August 6, 1970, a PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashed while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board. On December 8, 1972, a PIA Fokker F27 crashed in Rawalpindi. All 26 people on board were killed.
On November 26, 1979, a PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashed shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people. On October 23, 1986, a PIA Fokker F27 crashed while coming in to land in Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.
On August 25, 1989, a PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappeared after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage was never found.
On September 28, 1992, a PIA Airbus A-300 crashed into a cloud-covered hillside while approaching Nepalese capital Kathmandu, killing 167 people.
On February 24, 2003, a chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crewmembers crashed into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi. On July 10, 2006, a PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashed into a field and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crewmembers.
On July 28, 2010, an Airblue Airbus 321 flying from Karachi crashed into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing everyone on board. Civil aviation authorities say 152 people were killed, while police put the number at 149. On October 5, 2010 a private plane of JS air company crashed near the Jinnah airport Karachi, killing everyone on board.
