A passenger airplane belonging to Bhoja Air has crashed near Chaklala Air Force Base in Rawalpindi. At least 127 people are feared dead as a result of the crash, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Were you at or close to the site of the accident?
Do you have any details regarding the plane crash?
Dawn.com requests its readers to share any information regarding the tragic accident that they may have.
Pakistan vs India: You have to have your say (742) Reaction on the streets (445) Clouds of match-fixing hover over cricket (426) Reliving March 25, 1992 (293) Swat operation: Is it on the right track? (287) How can Lahore be secured against terrorist attacks? (272) How vital is the ‘keeper? (266) NRO ruling: beginning of the end? (264) Terrorists target Shia procession in Karachi (264) Pakistan and the way forward (259)
My heart sinks after listening this sad news. The crash comes nearly two years after an Airblue plane fell in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad in fog and heavy rain. Exact cause of the crash is still unknown so we don’t need to believe in any speculations around. My whole hearted condolence is to the family of victims.
It was definitely the weather. The thunderstorm and the rain had just started then and they were at the peak then. That coupled with the old airplanes and faulty approaches, the tragedy was overdue.
feeling very sorry for all the victmx including Bhoja Airline owners..
why you are feeling sorry for Bhoja Airline Owners??? off course they will get Insurance Money if any.
Zafar Sahib…The ladt is being polite and displays kindness of her heart….else I agree thst Mr Bhoja should have done a better job.
we can only pray for the deceased.
Our coleague young engineer Mr. Shahid Iqbal was also among with others who got Shahdad in this tragic accident. May Allah rest him and all others in peace and give courage to their families to bear this irrepairable loss. Ameen!
I wish CAA put ban on all private airlines
So you think state owned PIA is any better? You have got to be kidding!
it was just near my town…in the neighborhood =/ (Pakistan Town)..I was outside home when it happened n passed near the local I think just at the same time when it was happening…but I didnt see anything
The plane that crashed was more than 27 years old. It first flew under British Ownership in 1985. In 1999 the plane flew under the US regional operator Comair (Delta Airline regional carrier). Since January 2011, the plane was stored in Johannesburg (aka airline graveyard) waiting to be dismantled or leased to 2nd tier airline operator for a pittance. The 737-200 has been out of production since 1988 (24 years)
Irrespective of whether the aircraft was air worthy, there should be a complete investigation on the cause, pending which there should be a complete suspension of flying air frame which are tired, aged, and sold back from the aircraft storage facilities.
Dear Sir,
If this aircraft ( 737-200) was sold by Shaheen to Bhoja, then the following needs to be brought to Account by an independent body:
1. Khalid Sehbai ( the so called owner of Shaheen)
2. Arshad Jalil
3. Pakistan CAA’s issuance of AD to operate.
Also, Government is not competent or honest to investigate this objectively. Therefore, the figurehead Minister of Def – need to be kept out of any investigation including giving premature statements to media)/
The Engines of Air plan both are different types.It’s not natural accident.
Allah sub in_ko janth de or inke ghar ko sabeer de. Ameen
Please do not blame everything on God. This is a crime and it must be investigated and the effecties must be compensated.
High winds like that will flip a jetliner over like it was a pancake. It was not pilot error. It was pilot bad luck. Pakistan airlines have a very good record v accidents. There was nothing the pilot could do but pray, if he had time for that.
Quite true that pilots do not want to fly through thunderstorms. Lightning can down a plane.
There is one aspect nobody is paying attention to. maybe the plane ran out of fuel. From what I have read, this flight flight lasted 3.5 hours. Fliying time from karachi to Islamabad is about 2 hours. It flew 1.5 extra hours burning all the extra fuel. Also after crashing there was not a big fire. If there was fuel, fire would have been massive after crashing.
You can bet, the blame will be put on the pilot after investigation. CAA cannot say we allowed a plane to fly that was not airworthy.
I have learnt through TV that people have been making away with gold bangles and other valuables removing them from the dead bodies. The rulers and the ruled exuding the same character. How are we going to rise as a nation.
Very shamed.
By changing
may their soul rest in peace….the responsible of this crash should be strictly punished.pilots do not want to fly through thunderstorms. Lightning can down a plane
I believe it same thing happened after the earth quake, some times I wonder r we really muslims. I hope & pray that people like that should pay for this kind of sins in the world as well.
Where is the Police? What a shameful act. Our government’s law enforcement agancies is really sleeping.
My heart and mind are not accepting is as a natural accident
It is a natural accidents…unleashed bu forces of nature,and sadly by lack of good weather forecasting equipment in Pakistan. Perhaps better equipment on the ground could have helped the plane avoid the cloud burst,,,perhaps.
It is great tragedy,unfortunately air safety is not taken as serious as it should be.The department in charge of air safety audit should be transparent and fool proof as per international safety standards.For God sake do,nt let corrupt politicians and bureaucrats to take the fate of these sensitive institutions in their hand.
There should b very stric law to ground all expired planes coz human life very precious which should not be bargained for accumulating wealth
Yes Indeed son Zafar Iqbal your point is right are u from Oman
Agreed. Though planes as old as 50 years,if properly maintained, can fly safely, yet there is a need for better safety controls, strict inspections by Civil aviation and more responsible attitudes by civil air lines. But in our country, as we know, everything can be bypassed, even the Supreme Court.
You all will agree that during the period of 1984 and today lots of progress has been made in aviation industry, mainly safety issues are addressed all these years and lots of functions of a plane are now cross verified by computers which minimize human error, having said this with this perticular incident I am sure that it had to happen. All people involved in getting this plane into the air are criminals.
Air Control should not have allowed the Pilot to land amid lightning and thunder storm. I consider Air Control responsible for this disaster
Lesson learned here dont land in bad weather. A sudden gust of wind or an air pocket could easily cause this to happe.
Air Traffic Controller are not responsible for this disaster nor we hold pilot responsible it is their bad luck like Cyrus said, but pilot has to make immediate decision for alternate destination in case of bad weahter.
Air Traffic controllers and Pilots should be more careful.
isn’t it similar to airblue case as well? I think ATC needs to be interviewed and our airports are in diare need of upgrades. the “hukmaraans” can pay attention to it but then it will distract from the looting of country.
Let’s not whip up speculative hysteria by rushing to judgement. At this time nobody knows for sure. Hopefully investigatory authorities can determine the possible cause and then we can weigh in on who is to blae.
Agree.
Usually airports are closed to traffic when lightning is on the radar, and the airliners usually head for an alternate destination.
May Allah give patience and courage to to the families of all shuhadaa, and may Allah give our nation Imaan and honesty to check and follow up all rules setup for good maintenace of all transport vehicles, air road, or sea.
Very sad. Crash is definitely due to old aircraft, pilot error and bad weather. I’m an experienced pilot and the stormy weather with hails must have accumulated ice on the wings top which the pilot must not have handled well.
You could be right, plane was on approach, slowing down engines at 1800 to 2000 feet thru storm and if a wind shear hits, what are the odds?
The plane was on the final approach to Islamabad Airport. The wind was south westerly , slightly tail wind at 30 knots gusting, thunderstorm, visibility 3 km. I think the plane entered a cloudburst and may have been struck by lightening causing the crash. Extremely sad. Mu heart felt condolences to the families of the departed souls.
Agree
They say it’s wind shear, Is there a doppler radar at islamabad airport? we know the area is prune to wind shear cause I felt it couple of times. How can ATC oks a landing? he must not knew about the wind shear.
the great ustaad maulana ata rahman of jamia binori town was on the flight!may allah have mercy on him!the death of an alim is the death of the world!
;( My heart is really crying… May their souls rest in peace
ameen
I am actually in office right now and since i red this news i am trying to find out the location where exactly the illfated plane crashed near chaklala airbase, so please if any one can update me and all of my coleagues working here are in tense situation.
All I know is it crashed near populated area of Rawalpindi.
Very sad to hear this news but I didn’t know this airline was till operational. Not really sure what’s the cause of the crash. My heart goes out to all the family and relatives of the victims.