Aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has revealed that the licenses of 262 pilots were ‘dubious’ and thus they will be barred from flying.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today (Friday), the Aviation Minister informed that the list of the suspected pilots have been sent to concerned authorities, instructing them to bar these pilots from further flying.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said, “The Aviation Ministry has informed all the airlines and the clubs that their credentials are dubious, and they shouldn’t be allowed to fly.”
Commenting on the pilots, Ghulam Sarwar said that the suspected pilots include 141 from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), nine from Air Blue, and 10 from Serene Airlines. “The rest of the pilots belong to flying clubs or chartered plane services,” he added.
The Aviation Minister further said that a total of 753 pilots are serving in Pakistani airlines, while 107 are serving in foreign airlines bringing the number to 860.
The investigation blamed it on “human error” and noted that the pilots and officials of the air traffic control on the ground did not follow set procedures.
Critics are praising the government for making public for the first time the outcome of an investigation into a plane crash and related irregularities plaguing the national airline industry.
There have been more than a dozen plane crashes in Pakistan over the past decade but promised inquiries into those incidents have never been shared with public.
