An Airbus A321-200 aircraft operated by Pakistani carrier Airblue crashed in the hills outside Islamabad earlier this week, killing all on board. Airblue Flt ED 202 was inbound to Islamabad (ISB) from Karachi (KHI) at the time of the accident, which happened on July 28, 2010 at about 09:45 AM local time.
According to Airblue, the aircraft (registration AP-BJB) was preparing to land at Islamabad (ISB) "during poor weather and thick fog." The aircraft impacted terrain in an area known as the Margalla Hills, north of Islamabad. There were no survivors among the six crew members and 146 passengers on board.
A statement on the Airbus website provided these details about the aircraft:
The aircraft involved in the accident, registered under AP-BJB, was MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 1218, initially delivered from the production line in 2000. The aircraft is leased to airblue in January 2006. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights. It was powered by IAE V2533 engines. At this time no further factual information is available.Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority has announced that the flight data recorders have been recovered from the aircraft wreckage.
Condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this accident.
Here is a video clip about the accident from ITN News [Note: This video was produced before it was known that there were no survivors.]
If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.
