Air Crash probe: Pilot Sajjad Gul's flying record summoned

KARACHI: An investigation team inquiring into Airbus air crash has summoned flying record of Captain Sajjad Gul, the pilot of ill-fated A320 Airbus, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The Aircraft Accident and Investigation Team while investigating various aspects of the air crash, has demanded overall flying record of Captain Sajjad Gul from the Chief Pilot Safety of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

The probe team has inquired about the flying routes of the pilot and also asked about the details of the log book and whether the Captain was observing fast during the flight.

The inquiry team has also asked questions about a Lahore to Karachi flight two days ago, inquiring whether the same pilot had operated a flight on the route two days ago on May 20, sources said. The issue of purported flying fatigue of the pilot also being inquired about, according to sources.

Earlier, Captain Sajjad Gul’s father in a media briefing said that his son had logged in 17,000 hours. He was the only pilot to have completed 1,000 hours in a year and a thorough professional, said the aggrieved father.

He, however, said that he has faith in the assurances given by the governor and the prime minister.

He said no remarks must be made until the black box’s contents come forward.

It is pertinent to mention here that the probe has also added the air traffic controller in the investigation.

The team also visited the runway and observed the marks where the plane had hit the ground.