ISLAMABAD: Search teams on Thursday recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of a Pakistani airliner that crashed into a city neighborhood last week killing 97 people on board, a spokesman for the airline said.
The Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 crashed on Friday into a residential district of the port city of Karachi. Two people on board survived.
Flight PK8303, from the eastern city of Lahore to Karachi, came down about a kilometer short of the runway as it was making a second attempt to land.
“The search resumed this morning and the voice recorder was found buried in the debris,” spokesman Abdullah H. Khan said in a statement.
“The cockpit voice recorder recovery will help a lot in the investigation.”
The flight data recorder had already been found.
Pakistani officials and Airbus investigators are collecting evidence at the site as they try to determine the cause of the country’s worst airline disaster in years.
Under international aviation rules, French investigators from the BEA — the French air safety investigation authority for civil aviation — have joined the Pakistan-led probe because the 15-year-old Airbus jet was designed in France.
The BEA said in a statement the two recorders would be examined at its laboratory just outside Paris. It issued a photograph of one of them on Twitter showing that it appeared to be intact inside its crash-resistant shell and metal base.
The plane’s CFM56 engines are expected to be a focus of the investigation after the pilot reported both had failed shortly after the plane made an initial, unsuccessful attempt to land.
The engines were made by CFM International, a joint-venture of France’s Safran and General Electric, and are among the most widely used and reliable in the airline industry.
Cockpit voice recorder recovered from debris of crashed Pakistani plane – spokesman
https://arab.news/48p6u
Cockpit voice recorder recovered from debris of crashed Pakistani plane – spokesman
- Says the recorder found buried in debris will help greatly in the probe
- PIA Airbus A320 crashed last Friday into a crowded residential part of Karachi
Deputy PM Dar, Etisalat chairman discuss investment, stake in Pakistan’s PTCL
- The development comes against backdrop of a long-running dispute over PTCL privatization
- The issue has resurfaced in recent years as Pakistan seeks to advance privatization plans
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with Jassem Mohammed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, chairman of Etisalat (e&) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance, and discussed with him investment prospects, including Etisalat’s stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Saturday.
The planned meeting with the Etisalat chairman comes against the backdrop of a long-running dispute over the privatization of PTCL. The UAE-based telecom group has withheld a final payment of about $800 million linked to its 2005 acquisition of a 26 percent stake in PTCL, citing delays in the transfer of properties included in the deal, a position disputed by Pakistan.
The issue has resurfaced in recent years as Pakistan seeks to revive investor confidence, advance privatization plans and stabilize its finances under a program backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The meeting reviewed Pakistan-UAE trade & economic cooperation, explored opportunities to enhance investment, and discussed e&’s pending issues and ongoing engagement in Pakistan, including through its stake in PTCL,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
Pakistan and the UAE maintain close political and economic ties, with Abu Dhabi providing critical financial support to Islamabad in recent years through deposits, loans and investment commitments as Pakistan navigates a fragile economic recovery.
“DPM/FM highlighted the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to facilitating investment by the private sector and partner countries, and to further strengthening economic cooperation between the two brotherly countries,” the foreign ministry said after the meeting.
The Pakistani deputy PM arrived in the UAE on Friday on an official visit following his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to his ministry. He will also hold meetings with other UAE officials during the visit.
