Monsoon hampers black box search

More body parts found; nation observes day of mourning

ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rain and cloud on Thursday hampered the search for the black box of an airliner that slammed into hilly woodland, killing 152 people on board in the country's worst aviation disaster.

The Air Blue passenger jet crashed in a ball of flames, disintegrating in the forested Margalla Hills overlooking the capital in heavy rain and poor visibility on Wednesday while trying to land after flying from Karachi.

The nation observed a day of mourning. National flags were flying at half mast from all public buildings in mourning for the dead. Businesses took out advertisements in the national press to honour colleagues who were killed or to express condolences.

But questions focused increasingly on why the pilot had been flying the Airbus 321 so low over the craggy hills in a restricted flight zone while making his approach in to land.

Helicopters were grounded because of poor visibility, rain and clouds, and the black box had yet to be located, officials said.

Investigators hope the flight data recorder will give clues to the fate of the 10-year-old Airbus, which was piloted by an experienced captain.

"We have expanded the search operation to an area of about 100 square yards and have found some more body parts," Ramzan Sajid, a spokesman for the city administration, told AFP.

Two Americans, an Austrian-born businessman, five children and two babies were among the 152 people on board flight ED 202.

Junaid Ameen, head of Civil Aviation Authority, called on rescue teams not to touch the wreckage, which could be invaluable to the investigation to determine whether a technical fault or bad weather was to blame.

A team from European company Airbus was to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday to assist with the investigation he said, refusing to speculate on reports that air traffic control may have asked the pilot to divert.

"It is the prerogative of the pilot to decide, keeping the situation in view. The air traffic controller can only advise him.

"The incident shows that the pilot was in an emergency-like situation, that led him to enter the restricted area," he said, refusing to comment further.

The plane broke apart into a gorge between two hills, scattering debris across hillsides enveloped in cloud and some distance from the road.

It was the worst aviation tragedy on Pakistani soil in history, piling more woes onto a country on the frontline of the war on al-Qaeda, where militant bombers have killed more than 3,570 people in the past three years.

US President Barack Obama offered his "deepest condolences" over the plane crash. UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply saddened" and China's President Hu Jintao also conveyed his condolences.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters that the remains of 115 bodies had been recovered and that it could take up to a week to identify the most charred remains, urging relatives to exercise patience.

Rescuers held out hope Thursday that more remains could be picked off the hillside, despite the inferno of the crash.

"It is a tragedy, a great tragedy. The cause of the crash is a technical issue and anything said about the cause at this time is speculation. Every thing will be clear after the inquiry," Kaira said.

Airblue, one of Pakistan's most respected airlines, was tight-lipped Thursday about any possible technical fault or pilot error.

Reports that the pilot was told to take another route were mere speculation, company spokesman Raheel Ahmad told AFP.

The only deadlier civilian plane crash involving a Pakistani jet saw a PIA Airbus A300 crash into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Napalese capital Kathmandu in 1992, killing 167 people. - AFP