Posted on 07/28/2010 4:38:09 AM PDT by Cardhu
A plane has crashed in hills north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board.
The plane, an Airblue flight from Karachi to Islamabad, came down in the Margalla Hills.
Officials said the plane lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing. It is not known what caused the crash.
Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead.
A huge rescue effort was launched, and the army sent special troops to help.
The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT).
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at least five survivors had been taken to hospital, but local officials later said those reports were wrong.
Local TV footage showed twisted metal wreckage hanging from trees and scattered across the ground. A flight recorder has been found.
Officials said rescuers searching for survivors were digging through the rubble with their bare hands. The crash site, on a steep hill, has no roads.
"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," said Express 24/7 television journalist Sabur Ali Sayed at the scene.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
When a plane full of Muslims goes down its sad that the first thing that you think of was it was brought down by one of their own.
ROP
God have mercy.
It missed the approach first and climbed out of Islamabad for making another circuit. The Margalla Hills - stealthed with clouds - intersected the flight vector of the aircraft inadvertently interrupting continued forward progress of the aircraft.
There are reports of at least 6 survivors (some reports numbering as many as 45).
My FIRST thought was offering prayers for the innocent and their family members on-board that plane.
IMMEDIATELY after I wondered the same thing... Why did it crash? Obviously there are MANY reason a plane crashes - pilot error, mechanical failure, freak weather problems (and reg. weather too)...
I don’t know off-hand the reputation of the area it crashed in - the Margalla Hills - neither the terrain, nor the occupants of that area. However, knowing what we know about the RADICAL Muslims in Pakistan it’s NOT inconceivable that they could have taken it down themselves - whether from someone ON the plane, or from the ground.
Like you said — it’s really sad that with such a tragedy like this one wonders what “really” happened. Such is the world nowadays I suppose...
RIP.
“The Margalla Hills - stealthed with clouds - intersected the flight vector of the aircraft inadvertently interrupting continued forward progress of the aircraft.”
IOW - the pilot crashed the plane into the mountainside (hillside?) due to low visibility? Also, wouldn’t it be the PILOT who then “inadvertently” interrupted the “forward progress” by hitting the mountain? It’s not like they rose up “accidentally” to hit the plane...
[Yes, I’m busting your chops - teasing a bit. I just thought your explanation sounded WAY too much like some bureaucrat’s patronizing explanation - trying to make things sound WAY more complicated than they need to be in order to appear extremely intelligent...]
I wonder if the plane’s warning system was working, or if the alarm went off too late to avoid the accident?
Anyway, I hope the reports of survivors are correct. Prayers for the injured, and the families of all involved (as well as the rescue workers).
There have been several Airbus crashes; I don’t know if this one if the same model as the others; but it could be that the plane itself has design problems.
Not necessarily by a bomb, although that is always a possibility.
Maintenance and flight crew competence are not always up to Western standards.
Neither are the passengers. A few years ago, a jet burned with the loss of everybody on board on a runway in Kuwait. Somebody lit a propane burner in flight to cook himself a meal. It tipped over and ignited portions of the cabin. The pilot managed to land the plane, but the crew was unable to open the doors before it was too late.
Not necessarily by a bomb, although that is always a possibility.
Maintenance and flight crew competence are not always up to Western standards.
Neither are the passengers. A few years ago, a jet burned with the loss of everybody on board on a runway in Kuwait. Somebody lit a propane burner in flight to cook himself a meal. It tipped over and ignited portions of the cabin. The pilot managed to land the plane, but the crew was unable to open the doors before it was too late.
ISLAMABAD – A passenger jet crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan’s capital amid poor weather Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board and blazing a path of devastation strewn with body parts and twisted metal wreckage.
Initial Interior Ministry reports that five people survived the Airblue crash were wrong, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, which deals with emergencies and reports to the ministry.
“The situation at the site of the crash is heartbreaking,” Elahi told The Associated Press. “It is a great tragedy, and I confirm it with pain that there are no survivors.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100728/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
It appears that the cause of the crash was “CFIT”, controlled flight into terrain.
To the very few on this thread (NOT LibertyRocks) who have expressed glee at the deaths of many undoubted innocents merely because they are Pakistani, I say shame on you. Your sentiments are unworthy.
Prediction: Imminent speculation whether those 5 died on impact. Or, thereafter...
I fully agree. I know American Pakistanis and I immediately thought of them.
Bad weather + hills = bad combination. With all the technological wizardry modern jetliners have onboard, it still comes down sometimes to a lost or disoriented flight crew combined with nonexistent or inattentive ATC, and then it’s “WHOOP WHOOP PULL UP PULL UP”...
}:-)4
Reading a UK-based board where a lot of airline pilots post (pprune.org - not the most reliable source around but sometimes has some good information), the plane may have been attempting a circle-to-land approach on runway 12 at Islamabad. Basically, the plane flies down the approach vector for the runway going the other direction (runway 30), then makes a descending circle to the right back to a point where they can line up for runway 12. Supposedly the plane is supposed to stay within a certain distance of the airport while doing the circle to avoid the hills, and this flight got too far away and failed to clear a ridge. Occam’s Razor would say “pilot error” but it’s way too early to tell.
}:-)4
Also known as " Flight into Cumulogranite"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.