IFALPA, IFATCA for probe under global standards

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) urged the PIA plane crash investigation authority to conduct the technical safety investigation under the international standards on accident investigation.

In a statement issued after the release of Preliminary Report on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight 8303, IFALPA and IFATCA said that Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention clearly has stated: “The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability.”

They said that “such investigation should not be impeded or influenced by administrative, disciplinary, or judicial proceedings that would apportion blame or criminal liability.

“Whilst the investigation is ongoing, there should be no disclosure of the accident evidence other than the basic factual information usually included in a preliminary report. None of the actual recordings should be made available for purposes other than the technical safety investigation.

“There should also not be premature conclusions, which are often based on incomplete, inaccurate and/or speculative information and which focus on one aspect of what happened.

“The premature conclusions hamper the ability to learn from these tragic events and could be unfair to one or more of the parties concerned.”

Moreover, IFALPA and IFATCA stated that they would “monitor the investigation closely to ensure that it was conducted in accordance with the principles described above and assured all support to ensure the prevention of the recurrence of accidents.”

For the purpose, both associations urged the PIA plane crash investigation authority to conduct the technical safety investigation under the international standards on accident investigation.