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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Pilots in Pakistan airliner crash were reportedly distracted by coronavirus
2020-06-25
RUFKM? Everything dies of Covid now.
[NY Post] The pilots of a Pakistan airliner that crashed last month, killing 97 people aboard, were preoccupied and distracted by the coronavirus pandemic as they chatted about the bug — trying to land with the wheels still up on their first attempt, according to an initial official report about the disaster.

The Pakistan International Airlines jet slammed into a residential area near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 22, just days after the country lifted coronavirus restrictions and resumed domestic flights ahead of a major Muslim holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Only two people survived the crash of the Airbus A320, which was carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members. A 13-year-old neighborhood girl was critically injured and later died in a hospital.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's aviation minister blamed "human error" by the cockpit crew as well as air traffic controllers who saw the plane's two engines scrape the runway with a shower of sparks, but did not tell the pilots.

Investigators determined that the plane was at more than twice the correct altitude when it first approached the runway, the report said.

The badly damaged engines failed as the pilots attempted a second landing, according to the findings.

"The pilot as well as the controller didn't follow the standard rules," Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said as he announced the findings in parliament.

He said the captain ‐ who had been talking about the pandemic with the first officer ‐ ignored instructions from the controller during the landing attempt.

"The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout they were having a conversation about coronavirus," Khan said.

According to the voice recorder, the pilots had discussed the coronavirus ‐ which apparently had affected their families ‐ throughout the flight, the report found.

The crash occurred as the crew tried to land a second time and the traffic controller told the pilot three times that the aircraft was too low to land but he refused to listen, saying he would manage, Khan said.

Khan told reporters later that when the plane was making an approach for a second landing, it lacked enough power, but the pilots "started discussing corona again."

Just minutes before the crash, the pilot declared an emergency and stated that both engines had failed, Khan said.
Posted by:Frank G

#7  "Oh. So you've been inoculated EVERY year against Polio? Hmmmm"
Posted by: Frank G   2020-06-25 18:58  

#6   One in three pilots in Pakistan has a FAKE flying license

Fewer than those sporting fake inoculation records when they travel abroad? Well done, Pakistan! (Ok, I just invented the statistic, though not the fake inoculation problem)
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-06-25 18:15  

#5  This is hilarious, and oh so typical.

And Hi Canuckistan sniper, nice to hear from you. Although in truth, you may have just snuck through when I wasn't looking.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2020-06-25 17:41  

#4  It was the will of Allan.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper   2020-06-25 16:49  

#3  ^The other two bought themselves real ones?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-06-25 15:52  

#2  One in three pilots in Pakistan has a FAKE flying license, aviation minister reveals amid probe into crash last month that killed 97 people
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-06-25 13:42  

#1  Pakistan flag carrier to ground a third of pilots over 'dubious' licences
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-06-25 13:04  

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