[deanmine]

On July 28, 2010, Airblue Flight 202, a domestic passenger flight from Karachi to Islamabad, ended in tragedy when it crashed into the Margalla Hills, north of Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The Airbus A321-231, registration AP-BJB, was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members; tragically, there were no survivors, making it the deadliest air accident in Pakistan's history and the first fatal crash involving an Airbus A321.

The aircraft, built in 2000, had accumulated over 34,000 flight hours across approximately 13,500 flights. It had previously been struck by lightning in December 2008 but continued to be in active service after the incident.

Investigations into the crash revealed that the cause was controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error. The flight was operating under poor weather conditions, with low visibility and heavy fog, which likely contributed to the pilots' disorientation. Moreover, the aircraft was flying below the minimum altitude required for the approach to Islamabad airport. It was reported that the captain’s arrogant demeanor during the flight affected crew resource management, causing the first officer to lose confidence and be less likely to challenge the captain’s decisions, contributing to a toxic work environment in the cockpit.

[modular]

28th July 2010 . Capt Pervez Chaudhry ( RIP ) had lost his mind:
insulting and intimidating the First Officer ; initiating strange maneuvers ; & flying straight into the hills !!
Chaudhry had done 1100+hrs on the Airbus , and 25000+ hrs as an airline pilot. One would ask what on earth ever happened to a pilot of his expertise that tragic day.
The last message heard on the CVR was frm the FO :
"...sir we're going down...sir were going do..."