Story By: Conor Sheils, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

In the wake of the fatal plane crash in Karachi the country’s Aviation Minister had discovered almost half of the pilots in Pakistan are using fake flying licences.

Minister Ghulam Sarwar made the claims while presenting a report into last month’s PIA plane crash in the city of Karachi in Pakistan.

Speaking about the issue he said: “Pakistan has 860 active pilots, which includes PIA, Serene Air and Air Blue pilots as well.

“The [earlier] inquiry which was initiated in February 2019 showed that 262 pilots did not sit the qualifying exam themselves, and asked someone else to sit the exam on their behalf.”

He added that the probe also found that many of the 40 percent ‘fake’ pilots did not have sufficient flying experience and included many who are not deemed ‘active flyers’.

Meanwhile, he continued by saying that some pilots had been appointed on “a political basis” rather than based on their merit.

In his provisional report, the minister held pilots and the air control tower responsible for causing the PIA plane crash in Karachi.

PIA flight PK8303, carrying 99 people including eight crew members, crashed into a densely populated residential area near Karachi airport on May 22.

Two people survived the crash while 97 passengers lost their lives.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.