Here's the complete news report:
PIA to replace all its F-27 Aircraft with seven new ATR 42-500
KARACHI, Jul 23 (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has clarified that all its Fokker Friendship aircraft that were flying, are without a shadow of doubt, completely airworthy and duly certified for flying.
The Fokker planes are airworthy and certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan and by PIA's own certified Engineers.
The press and media reports that the planes are unsafe, have created a wrong impression in the minds of many people.
According to PIA the F-27 aircraft are completely safe and airworthy.
(PIA F-27 fleet flight cycles details from article posted above)
The F-27 aircraft has a Life Cycle of 90,000 landings. The Fokker that crashed, Registered as AP- BAL, had only competed 83,000 plus life cycles. It had therefore 7000 life cycles left.
Now each Fokker each day makes on an average 4 to 5 landings and consequently, the Fokker that crashed had almost 4 years of useful flying life left. PIA has six more Fokkers in its fleet.
However, much before that, in fact, starting November this year and by the middle of next year, all the F-27 Aircraft would have been replaced by seven new ATR 42-500. It will be seen and appreciated from the above that PIA had never put the life of any of its passengers in jeopardy, nor would the continuation of the Fokker Fleet operations have been an unsafe proposition. There are no limits on hours that these aircraft may have flown.
The Fokker Friendship aircraft is one of the most successful Dutch Airplane design ever. It is still in service in many airlines of the world including USA and Europe, KLM itself flies them still Mountain Air of USA is flying as many as 21 Fokkers. There are as many as 167 Fokker Aircraft in service now around the world.
PIA has been proud to operate this aircraft for nearly four decades now, and is regarded as one of the best F-27 Operators from whom other F-27 Operators take guidance.
The Aircraft was fully serviceable by all National and International Standards, and the truth is that it would not have flown for a single minute if it was Certified otherwise.
In fact, the Engineer who certified this very aircraft, AP-BAL which met a tragic fate, was on board the aircraft himself.
The Civil Aviation Rules 1994 CAR, Chapter XV Section 4, Rule 273 require aircraft accident investigation to be the sole responsibility of CAA Pakistan.
The appointment of the Chief Investigator and other appointments of the Investigation Board are to be decided by the Director General, CAA with the final approval of the Federal Government.
As per the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex-13, Chapter-5, Article 5-18 and CAA Regulation XIII, which is the State's complimentary Document to Annex 18, regarding participation in the investigation, is reproduced here as reference.
"The state of the operator, the State of the Design, and the State of Manufacture shall each be entitled to appoint an accredited representative."
It has already been reported in the press that PIA invited these experts from the Fokker Services, from the Rolls Royce, and from air safety Investigation Team, to join in the investigations. These experts will provide specialist advice to the CAA (PAK) Board of Inquiry.
The Legislative procedures also dictate that the Investigating Agency has full control over the investigation that includes wreckage, crash site, relevant records etc.
Therefore the allegation that PIA will tamper with the components or crash site and twist or delay the investigation is also baseless.
On the contrary, PIA is doing everything to find the exact cause of the accident, whether it is material failure, maintenance fault or human error with the intention to conclude the F-27 investigation at the earliest.
As for travel arrangement and other facilities to the Investigators, PIA is fully cooperating and facilitating their travel and other arrangements in all possible ways.
PIA was the first Airline in Asia to be granted maintenance approval by the US Federal Aviation administration, FAA, and the Air Registration Board, Predecessor of the British Civil Aviation Authority, BCAA, and EASA Part 145, therefor, PIA's credentials for safety, engineering and maintenance have a long history behind it.
Nearly a year ago a new Department was created called Flight Safety, Health Safety and Environment, which replaced and upgraded the previously existing corporate safety Division of PIA. It was a deliberate act of positioning Senior Vice President to run this Department, who was reporting directly to the Chairman.
This was considered necessary for previously this was a General Mangers position and, as such, could not act independently for his efforts could be influenced. The idea was to enlarge its focus and give importance to all aspects that contribute to the overall safety of the airline.
Due to this safety consciousness, the airline has done the following in the year, 2005-6 alone, which are over and above the regulatory requirement.
1) undergone IATA Operational Safety Audit of the entire airline.
2) Enhanced Internal Quality and Safety Audits.
3) Renewal of EASA Part 145 Certification.
4) Training in Safety was enhanced (OHSAS 18001).
5) Implementation of Safety Management System in All Departments of PIA.
6) Advanced Human factor Training CRM II and Enhance CRM (Cockpit Resource Management) Training Safety First has been, is, and will continue to be, the first and foremost concern of the airline. Safety is one of PIA's core business values.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan
which has badly effected the F27s service within PIA even though the remaining F27s are airworthy 