Recorders – commonly known as “black boxes” – were recovered after the flight, PIA 8303, crashed into a dense residential area adjacent to Jinnah International airport in Karachi on May 22, killing all but two, except two.
The French aviation safety investigation authority for civil aviation, BEA, is the accredited representative of the Airbus 320 aircraft involved in the accident.
A French team arrived in Karachi on May 26, according to BEA. The French authority said Thursday that it had received a request from Pakistan to handle the data repair and download operations for the recorders later.
“The on-site mission is nearing completion,” wrote the Saturday tweet, adding that “Pakistan’s AAIB team will then fly to France.”
On Friday, the Pakistani aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said the initial report of the accident would be made public on June 22nd.
Khan said the ministry informed Prime Minister Imran Khan that he requested that all reports be made public.
The pilot on board reported to Karachi air traffic control that he had lost his engines before the plane crashed.
“We are proceeding directly, we have lost the engines,” the pilot can be heard of the plane’s approach, in an audio recording of the aircraft communications obtained by CNN from a source in the Pakistani government.
A few seconds later, the pilot can be heard listening to several calls, followed by an air traffic control response that says both runways are free to land. The audio then stops.
The flight from Lahore was a special service to help passengers return home for the Eid holidays after the coronavirus blockade was eased.
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