Finally, the cause of Pakistan’s worst air crash is official. The commercial Airblue flight crashed into the Margallah Hills of the picturesque Pakistani capital on July 28, 2010.

The cloud cover in Islamabad makes for a breathtaking scene and on the day of the crash, rain came calling as if on cue to provide sore eyes with a great hit. Sadly, the hit was enveloped in tragedy and remained shrouded in mystery until last month.

Many theories were immediately propounded — a staple diet of Pakistanis to explain the multitude of often intriguing episodes that take place across the land anytime anywhere — to make sense of the plane crash that killed all 152 passengers and crew onboard.

For one, the crash occurred after the Airbus intruded into a “no-fly zone” — Pakistan’s powerful institutions are all housed not very far from the Margallah hills — and there is supposed to be a rapid response to meet any such eventuality.  Therefore, suspicions abounded about what could have transpired. Hence, the sigh of relief when the much vaunted black box was found.

The conclusion of the probe report is that the crash was a case of “Controlled Flight into Terrain in which the aircrew failed to display superior judgment and professional skills in a self-created unsafe environment.”

Before one moves to the investigation report, a little factoid: it is calculated that if you were born on an airplane, flew in it and never got off, you would not be involved in a fatal accident until you are 78 years old.

Obviously, those odds did not help the ill-fated passengers. Neither did the fact that Pakistan has one of the safest aviation histories going around.

It was only to be expected that most debate would centre around the role of the captain whose renown as someone with more than three-and-a-half decade of flying experience, including a stint with Pakistan Air Force, to his credit as captain is difficult to dismiss.

How could Captain Pervaiz Chaudhry — trained on the most sophisticated six-axis motion simulators (which can be more challenging to fly than a real aircraft) — fly a high-tech aircraft into a hill and kill everyone?

But then like the one ball it takes to dismiss however great a batsman, all it takes is a momentary lapse in concentration or even fatigue to blur the line.

The probe report submitted last month gives a damning account of the seasoned captain’s fatal errors of judgment, compounded by his conduct.

It is sure to rend many a heart because, technically speaking, it led to everyone’s demise  — suggesting early grave would be, strictly speaking, incorrect because the odd piece of charred flesh does not hold for a grave.

“Captain Chaudhry’s behaviour towards the flying officer was harsh, snobbish and contrary to establish norms. This undesired activity of the captain curbed the initiative of the First Officer, created a tense and undesirable environment, and a very conspicuous communication barrier in the cockpit, portraying a classic CRM (Crew Resource Management) failure,” the 38-page report says.

It has emerged that the captain who had been hired post-retirement from the national carrier — and only recently hospitalised with a history of diabetes, hypertension and cardiac problems —  confused the Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad with Jinnah International Airport Karachi while planning Flight Management System (FMS) and Khanpur Lake with Kahuta area during the holding pattern!

The captain violated the proscribed Circling Approach procedure for RWY-12 by descending below Minimum Descent Altitude — that is, 2300ft instead of the standard 2500ft leading to loss of visual contact with the airfield.

He chose to fly the ill-advised self-created PBD-based approach, which resulted in transgression of the protected airspace and the eventual collision with the hills.

“The captain also did not at all adhere to Flight Crew Operating Manual procedures of displaying reaction and response to timely and continuous terrain and full up warnings (21 times in 70 seconds). Despite these very loud, continuous and executive commands, the captain failed to register the urgency of the situation and did not respond in kind (break off and full off),” the report observes.

What seems literally like the last nail in the coffin was the communication barrier between the captain and the First Officer, who almost turned a bystander after he felt humiliated.

“The question/answer sessions, lecturing and advices by the captain continued with intervals for about one hour after take-off. After the intermittent humiliating sessions, the First Officer generally remained quiet, became under confident, submissive and subsequently, did not challenge the captain for any of his errors, breaches and violations,” the report revealed.

Recalling the last recorded action, the report had this to say: “At 0441:08 hours, the FO (Flight Officer) was heard the last time saying to the captain ‘Sir we are going down, sir we are going da….’ The high rate of descend at very low altitude could not be arrested and the aircraft flew into the hill and was completely destroyed. All souls on board sustained fatal injuries due to impact force.”

Finally, what takes the breath away is how the captain appeared to ignore, rather than take cue, from how his fellow captains in two flights before him gave due respect to the danger of elements coming into play.

“While the captain of PK-356 managed to land in the third attempt, the captain of China Southern decided to divert back to Urumchi (China). The captain of the mishap flight opted to follow PK-356 but with non-standard approach procedure,” the investigation pointed out.

It is painful, if difficult, to wonder how those who lost their loved ones, including the family of the captain, would come to terms with the loss after these findings.

The captain’s son has decided to challenge the report and take the government to court, saying it is convenient to blame his father, when he’s not around, and that there was no proof to back claims the captain was “snobbish” and misread the emergency on flight.

The recording of the last conversation between the captain and the control tower – as reported by Civil Aviation Authority sources — is deeply poignant, if ironical.

Here is how it reportedly went before the captain lost contact (the plane was travelling at 9.5 nautical miles while it was supposed to turn at five nautical miles).

Control tower’s first warning: You are getting away from the runway.

Pilot’s response: We can see the runway.

Control tower’s second warning: Turn to your left immediately, you are heading towards Margallah hills.

Pilot’s response: We can see that.

The New Year signifies a rebirth of sorts. For some psychological reasons peculiar to homo-sapiens, January 1 seems to be like crossing some threshold in time and starting anew. For some however, the end of time as we perceive it to be had already come before. As life is created so is death met, in a timeless circle the true understanding of which is beyond most of us puny mortals. Our lot is merely to continue with our existence till the final whistle is blown.

And while the start of the new year is for contemplating what the future holds, perhaps sparing a thought for those Pakistanis who left us in 2011 will keep us focused on how important it is to exist in the moment.

It is an impossible task to cover in an article of this length even a fraction of those who left us. I will thus just set out those which carry some meaning for me on an individual basis.

The one to top the list is one of our men of iron, Nur Khan. An icon of professionalism and personal integrity, his life reads like a book on what leadership stands for. His personal courage was legendary. He flew, with the crew, a highly dangerous bomber mission over Kashmir, in 1965. This when he was an Air Marshall and could have afforded to sit in an arm chair without putting his life on the line in any manner whatsoever.

As chairman of PIA he single handedly confronted an armed hijacker, and disarmed him, in the process getting injured.

He excelled as a top class administrator. It was truly amazing the level of efficiency that he imbibed in whatever organization he headed. The Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan International Airlines, the hockey board and the cricket board all achieved unparallel successes under him.

We need to be thankful for men such as him. Firstly for contribution towards the building up of two of our most vital national assets, the air force and the airlines; and secondly for setting the highest of personal and professional standards.

For me, Salman Taseer’s assassination had all the hallmarks of a classic Greek tragedy. A flawed hero finally taking a stand on a worthy cause and being cut down by cruel fate. A larger than life figure, his ostentatious lifestyle was a bit of an embarrassment to us fellow chartered accountants. A hugely successful entrepreneur he built up a number of businesses. His one fatal flaw was his rather abrupt and curt communication style. Being a self made individual he had little respect for normal sensibilities. This proved to be his undoing in the end.

Had he understood, or bothered to understand, the sensitivities around the blasphemy law, he would have handled the whole issue in an entirely different manner. I have nothing but admiration and the deepest respect for the support that he extended to Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death on religious grounds. I just wish he had better understood the hate filled bigotry rampant in current Pakistani society.

If Pakistan is to nominate one all-round actor to the global hall of fame, it has to be Moin Akhtar. His repertoire of characters must be unmatched on an international level. A master of the under-delivery he was always uncomfortable participating in the rowdy farces which constitute most of the standard comedy fare dished out by the stage drama in Pakistan.

His incredible sense of timing and the professional etiquette that he always maintained made him a household favorite. The manner that he mimicked a number of the high and mighty is still a treat to watch. He was to Anwar Maqsood what Rafi Khawar (Nannha) was to Kamal Ahmed Rizvi. Kama Ahmad Rizvi never recovered from the loss of Nana, let’s see if Anwar Maqsood does.

That doyen of the qawwali fraternity, Maqbool Ahmed Sabri, was the more versatile brother of the famous Sabri duo. Unlike popular perception it was the Sabri brothers, and not the other legendary qawal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who made the art of qawali an internationally famous one. They performed at New York’s Carnegie hall in 1975.

They travelled extensively all over the world, and entranced thousands with their bewitching performances. It’s quite a sight seeing all those westerns just immersing themselves in the esoteric beat and performing dhamals. We should be grateful for the truly timeless classic qawali’s such as Tajdar-e-Haram, Madinae Chalaey Aou and Khawaja Ki Diwani that have been gifted to us

The list could go on, like that for every year past, present or in the future.

However I would like to end this article with a heartfelt tribute and thanks to all those unsung heroes who left us, while performing their sacred duty of defending our motherland. Most of us civilians, during our frequent piques, tend to view our armed and security forces as being, at best, something of an unnecessary evil.

‘Seven Hundred And Sixty’ of our brave men and women died in 2011 while performing their defense and security duties. Died, not because they had no choice. Died, because they were true to the oath they had taken. While for us the images of the armed and security forces revolve around plush offices, fancy cars and plots in the Defense, for the 99% of the people in those organizations reality is far different.

Reality consists of young widows, infants, children, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, old parents and other loved ones bearing the cross of separation for their lifetimes.

A few measly rupees is not something which buys this loyalty considering the possible consequences. It is personal bravery and a sense of duty of the highest kind.

And then one does think of one’s own name in that list of have-been’s. Personally, what I would hope for is the smiles that the memories will hopefully elicit. The tears can follow later on at their own leisure…

Tweet by Alan Warne :

Once india’s MMRCA winner is announced will the losers offer Pakistan with alternatives to the J-10/FC-20? You bet!
As per Indian media reports Dassault Rafale has slight advantage in
price, Air to Ground arsenal and AESA radar. If we add this to the fact
that Indian air force is already using Dassault Mirage-2000 and seems to
be more then happy, Rafale

Aviation week reports that a quick order of JF-17 fighter jets by Pakistan could be the cause of the soudain hurry surrounding the MMRCA deal.

“India wants to expedite the deal in part because Pakistan is expecting a speedy delivery of 50 JF-17 aircraft, which originally were to be spread out over two years, according to defense ministry officials.”

Accordind to Aviation weeks, the offset

A special feature posted on the PAF Falcons web site provides a fascinating transcript of a one-on-one interview with an anonymous, although apparently very senior, Pakistani Air Force F-16 pilot. It reminds me of YouTube Terry’s infamous indiscretions.The Pakistani pilot manages to embarrass the pride of the Royal Air Force, candidly describe Israeli air-to-air prowess and explain how the US

The Pakistan Air Force will start receiving the improved version of the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet Block II. The Block II Thunder will include newer and improved capabilities including data link and electronic warfare capabilities aerial refuelling, new radar & avionics.

 The JF-17 Thunder Block II will also expend its inventory of new generation precision guided weapons including

General
Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon of Pakistan Air Force seen at Air Show
Türkiye – 2011 – celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Turkish Air
Force .Thanks to all those photographers at Air Show
Türkiye – 2011 for providing us these excellent pics.
 

This is my most favourite shot of any PAF F-16A . 

Thanks to all those photographers for providing us these

The JF-17 Thunder fighter, co-developed by China’s Avic and the Pakistan
Air Force (PAF), is to receive improvements that will start being
produced with the Block-2 version from next year.

The enhancements will effect the data link and electronic warfare
capabilities. An air-to-air re refueling capability will be added, as
will be new guided weapons. A two-seat variant is being developed, too.
The current program schedule calls for the Pakistan-based factory to
deliver the JF-17 Block-2 to the PAF from mid-2012 to 2015. Then, a
Block-3 version is planned from 2016. Block-1 aircraft are being
delivered until the middle of next year.

PAF Air Chief Marshall Rao Qamar Suleiman said marketing efforts focus
on those countries needing to replace old fighters such as the MiG-21,
early Mirage, F-5 and Phantom types. The program’s target export
countries can be found in Latin America, Africa and Asia. “We offer
performance comparable to U.S. and European fighters when it comes to
radar, dogfight missile, range and BVR [beyond visual range]
capabilities, for one third of the cost,” Suleiman claimed.

So far, five countries are said to have taken a close look at the
aircraft. China itself is currently evaluating the JF-17 and a decision
is expected “shortly.” Avic and the PAF expect to sell “between 300 and
500 JF-17s” over the next 10 years.

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Bhai Akbar
Bhai Akbar was a simple honest and God fearing man. He lived in our house officially as a cook but we all respected and cared for him as a family member. He joined us when he was in his thirties and stayed until he got fifty. He had low I.Q so he did what and when pleased him. No one could force him to do anything. In short he was never treated as a servant. He used to drink left over tea and eat left over curry in plates no matter how much he was asked to eat fresh when he came to our house.
He loved children. He was very fond of my youngest nephew Adil. So he carried Adil on his shoulders when went to market. The market was quite far from our house in Peshawar . The guests always left before Akbar Bhai returned.
Akbar would leave everything and anything he was busy in for Adil. Adil was hardly 3 years old then.
Adil’s girl friend had come with her parents. Adil would never go to sitting room unless he wore his best suit and polished shoes. So he asked Akbar to polish his shoes instantly.
Akbar was making roti but as obedient servant he left the roti on the stove and started polishing Adil’s shoes grinning all the time. Roti burnt to ashes. No body could say anything to Akbar Bhai for he wouldn’t listen to anybody but Adil.
He served tea at 5 p.m. every day. Akbar Bhai asked Saba without fail if she will take tea though she refused every day.
My brother’s new bicycle was stolen from outside his office. Though he was an officer in Pakistan Air force but in those times riding a cycle had nothing to do with status. Well, after 20 years the cycle was found by the police—– don’t laughJ the police was honest to dutiful too then.
Surprisingly the cycle was in good running condition.
Children were small. They had their own cycles. So it was decided to gift the lost n found classical cycle to Bhai Akbar. Akbar when told this news he smiled shyly as if a bride was arranged for him. He did not know to ride a cycle so when he went to market he would walk with it. Even if he had to bring ice for the party, he would unshackle the cycle first then walk with it and came back walking with water in the bag instead of ice.
We had a very big house so bought a goat. Children loved to play with it.
It was winter season. Akbar Bhai tied the goat under the shade of a tree where charcoal was dumped. As it was winter so charcoal was not visible.
Next day the goat kept sitting all day. Children came and told this. It was surprising so we elders went to see. The poor goat sat still staring at us. Actually she had wedged in the charcoal. Its body melted the charcoal but the cold night again froze it so the goat was jammed too. It was sheer depressing to see the poor animal in such agony due to Bhai Akbar’s foolishness. Cans of kerosene oil were poured on the goat to let loose it. Then it was taken to shave off her body hair. After that it looked so funny. Akbar Bhai felt it too and abundantly fed her.
Akbar went on his annual leave to his village in Murree. He had saved his one year’s salary to marry during his stay there.
When he came back after one month we asked him about his marriage n bride. What he told us was depressing. His father married the same girl whom Akbar wanted to marry. They spent his savings too.
Akbar was very fond of watching movies. I used to write application on his behalf asking permission from my brother J
Once when going to see movie he dropped his wallet somewhere and lost all his money. So after that incident he promised and asked forgiveness from Allah not to see any movie again. He did keep his promise. He became very religious and prayed 5 times regularly no matter what. Once he made a beggar sit in the sitting room when he was going to offer namaz. Poor beggar was astonished too. On inquiring he said simply that since it was very cold so he made him sit inside. It’s difficult to find such pure innocent people like Akbar Bhai now. His character was unmatched. He was dead honest. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.

Today I learnt that the highly revered and admired Air Marshal (R) Nur Khan passed away on December 15, 2011. Although I did not have a very close, personal relationship with him, my father certainly…



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