Aviation experts hint at pilot's error for PK-661 crash

The possibility of human error has not been ruled out as yet from the PK-661 crash, suggest aviation experts.

Pakistan International Airlines' flight PK-661 crashed on the way to Islamabad from Chitral on Wednesday.

"Should not have led to the plane crash as the aircraft was still flyable on the operative engine," the Express Tribune quoted the experts as saying.

Air Marshal (retd) Shahid Lateef, who insisted that the crash could have been avoided, insisted that the aircraft could still fly if one of its engines failed, adding that the aircraft could then be diverted to a nearby airfield for an emergency landing.

"Since it was a single engine failure, as we know, the captain of the aircraft should have flown and landed it safely. The aircraft does not even require a proper landing strip in case of emergency landing. The aircraft captain should have handled the emergency in a proper manner."

He further stated that he believed that the crash had occurred because of pilot error, adding that pilots were unable to cope with the emergency situation.

However, another UK-based Pakistani aviation expert Malik Riz Awan said that although this was the first air crash in Pakistan, one needed to rule out a few things before making any assertions.

"The possibility of a lightning strike or storm must be ruled out. The last message sent by the captain to the control tower is also very important," he said.