Authorities yet to find cockpit voice recorder of crashed PIA aircraft

KARACHI: The cockpit voice recorder – a vital piece of equipment in aircraft crash investigation – of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus is yet to be found by the investigation team.

However, according to PIA spokesperson, the flight data recorder, one of the other components of the aircraft’s black box, had been recovered earlier.

“Somehow, the voice recorder may have fallen into a house which investigators are working hard to obtain,” the spokesperson added.

PIA has also urged citizens not to keep any part of the wreckage and hand it over to the relevant authorities.

A day earlier,  an airbus investigation team completed its initial investigation of the crash.

The probe team inspected the runway of the Jinnah International Airport. They also visited the air traffic control tower and radar control station.

The specialists also visited the plane crash site area in Model Colony and provided technical assistance to their Pakistani counterparts to probe the reasons for the crash.

The Airbus experts will take the aircraft’s black box, which contains the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, and any other evidence that would help with the investigation.

The PIA Airbus A320 crashed in the residential area of Model Colony near the Karachi airport on May 22, minutes before landing. The plane flying from Lahore to Karachi had 99 persons on board including passengers and crew.

Only two people survived the tragic incident. Earlier, other victims of the crash were laid to rest in Karachi.

The bodies of the deceased are being identified via DNA testing and the process will continue in the coming days, according to authorities.

So far, 43 bodies have been identified and handed over to the next of kin.

According to the national carrier’s spokesperson, bodies of the victims are being taken to their homes on the special instructions of the prime minister. Four bodies have been delivered to Lahore and three to Islamabad.

“It is inappropriate to determine liability based on limited information and a few videos,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, PIA is carrying out its routine repatriation missions for stranded Pakistani nationals abroad.