Air blue Flight 202

Airblue Flight 202

AP-BJB, the Airblue Airbus A321-231 involved in the accident, photographed at

Manchester Airport on 24 June 2010, just over a month before the crash
Accident summary
Date 28 July 2010
Type Under investigation
Margalla Hills, Pakistan
Site 33°44′23″N 73°3′29″E33.73972°N 73.05806°ECoordinates:
33°44′23″N 73°3′29″E33.73972°N 73.05806°E
Passengers 146
Crew 6
Fatalities 152 (all)[1]
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Airbus A321-231
Operator Airblue
Tail number AP-BJB
Flight origin Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan
Destination Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan

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.[1][2][3] It is the deadliest air accident to
occur in Pakistan to date.[4] 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.[5] Air traffic controllers reportedly lost contact with the
flight crew during its attempt to land in dense fog and heavy monsoon rain.[6]
[7]

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.[8] 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,[9]

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.[10] The
aircraft had originally been delivered to Aero Lloyd and used by Aero Flight
before being taken up by Airblue in 2006.[11] It had accumulated
approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights.[12]

Accident

The flight left Karachi at 07:50 local time (01:50 UTC).[1] Initial reports
suggested that flight controllers at Benazir Bhutto International Airport lost
contact with the aircraft at 09:43 local time (03:43 UTC) [5] after they
delayed its landing 13 minutes earlier.[3] It was reported that the poor
weather had forced controllers to divert another aircraft attempting to land
30 minutes before the crash.[13]

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",[1] The New York Times gave an account of
communications 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”.[13] The controller then told the flight crew to “immediately turn
left, Margalla [Hills] are ahead”, before the pilot again replied “we can see it”.
[13]
An airline official stated that the pilots did not send any emergency
signals prior to the crash.[14] 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.[15]

One witness on the ground, who was out walking, stated that "the plane had
lost balance, and then we saw it going down".[7] 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". [1] 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".[13] 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".[13] An Indian television station stated that a woman told them
she didn't "think [the flight crew] could see where they were going".[citation
needed]
The plane was found near Daman-e-Koh viewing point in the Margalla Hills
outside Islamabad.[16] 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."[7]

The weather conditions before the accident, as detailed by the 03:00 UTC
METAR (aviation routine weather observation message) report for Benazir
Bhutto International Airport, were as follows: Wind from 50° (approximately
north east) at 16 knots (30 km/h). Visibility 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), rain, few
clouds at 1,500 feet (460 m), few clouds at 3,000 feet (910 m) with towering
cumulus. Scattered clouds at 4,000 feet (1,200 m), broken clouds at
10,000 feet (3,000 m). Temperature 24°C, dewpoint 23°C. QNH 1006.5 hPa.
[9]A

Passengers and crew

Early reports in the morning had stated that there were over 40 injured
survivors, later revised at around midday to around five to six people having
been rescued, before Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed in the
afternoon that there were in fact no survivors.[17] A Pakistani female
footballer Misha Dawood, 19, of Diya Football Club, Karachi[18] and former
national athlete Zafar Saleem, who is Sindh Workers Welfare Board director
general also lost their lives in the plane crash.[19]

At the time of the accident, the pilot had 35 years and more than 25,000
hours of flying experience.[17] Of the passengers, 110 were men, 29 were
women, 5 were children, and 2 were infants.[15] Six members of the Youth
Parliament of Pakistan had been on board.[13]

Fatalities
Nationality Total
Passengers Crew
Austria 1 0 1[20]
Pakistan 141 6 147
Germany 1[21] 0 1
Somalia 1 0 1[22]
United States 2 0 2[14]
Total 146 6 152

Rescue attempts

A local police official stated that he had reports "that the plane fell into the
Margalla Hills. There is smoke, but we have not been able to reach there. It
is surrounded by the hills and there is no road access". [23] An army helicopter
arrived to survey the crash site at 10:30 local time (04:30 UTC) but was not
able to land. All 152 passengers have been confirmed dead; initially there
had been conflicting reports about survivors being airlifted to nearby
hospitals. However, they were later proven to be wrong.[1] All hospitals in
Islamabad were declared in a state of emergency.[16]

One person present at the scene of the crash stated that the passengers "are
badly mutilated and burnt ... and there are two women among the dead". He
told journalists that "a good number of rescue workers have reached the site.
Other people have reached here on their own. The plane is totally destroyed.
The pieces and parts scattered over a large distance. Some parts of the plane
are still burning. Some bushes have been burnt."[1] It was reported that
rescuers at the crash site were "digging through the rubble with their bare
hands."[1] A senior city government official stated that the rescue operation
was "very difficult ... because of the rain. Most of the bodies are charred.
We're sending body-bags via helicopters."[1]

It was reported, however, that the rescue operation was "chaotic". BBC
journalist Zeesha Zafar reported that "there were fewer rescue workers there
than one would have expected. A majority of them were members of the
anti-terrorism police. Most of them just stood around, gazing at the burning
debris, and looking as though there was not much that they could do." He
stated that a police officer threatened to baton charge rescuers if they didn't
"move quickly".[24] Zafar reported that "just when the rescuers were shuffling
to get to work, a policeman in plain clothes announced that an army
helicopter was coming in to pour water on the fire, and that everyone should
get out of the way. The work stopped. The helicopter came, circled on the
spot a couple of times, and went away. No water."[24] Zafar went on that it
"was distinctly obvious that there was no co-ordination between the workers
of different departments such as the police, the rescue department, the
Capital Development Authority and the military ... Rescuers operated in a
chaotic manner, scouring through the debris that was not on fire ... During
the two hours that I stayed at the scene, I saw rescuers collect three
separate loads of body parts which they tied up in shrouds. There was no
telling how many people they belonged to."[24]

Reaction

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."[25]

Both the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gillani sent condolences to the family of those who died in the accident. The
Pakistani government declared 29 July 2010 would be a national day of
mourning and announced compensation of Rs 500,000 to the family of every
victim. U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement confirming that two
Americans had been on the flight and expressing condolences and stated that
"our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those touched by this horrible
accident".