Reportedly Bhoja Airlines had bought this 27.4 years old aircraft from Shaheen Airlines after it was scrapped by the latter for its compromised flight-worthiness.
Ministry of Defence and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have confirmed the reports of crash.
Inclement weather has been held responsible for the crash.
Airplane’s flight data recorder (Black Box) has been recovered as well.
All hospitals in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been put on high alert after the crash.
SLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that the owner of the Bhoja Airline Farooq Bhoja’s name has been placed on Exit Control List of Pakistan(ECL).
He said that the probe committee has been constituted to investigate the airplane crash incident.
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Introduction & History of Bhoja Airline:
Founded …………..1993
Fleet size ………. 3
Destinations …….. 5
Parent company ….. Bhoja Group of Companies
Headquarters, Jinnah International Airport
Karachi, Pakistan
Key people ………. M. Farouk Omar Bhoja (Chairman & CEO)
………………….M. Arshad Jalil (MD)
Bhoja Air (IATA: B4, ICAO: BHO, Call sign: BHOJA) is an airline based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It operates a small domestic scheduled network. It ceased operations in 2000 due to financial difficulties and succumbed to numerous debts and was relaunched in 2011, the first flight was on 6 March 2012.
History
On 7 November 1993, Bhoja Air started operations on domestic routes between Karachi, Lahore and Quetta with a dry leased Boeing 737-200. It was registered in Pakistan making Bhoja the first private airline in the country to operate a Western manufactured aircraft. Bhoja Air is a privately owned airline of the Bhoja Group of Companies with its head office at Shahrah–e-Liaquat, Karachi and corporate offices at KDA society. In 1996, it signed a deal with the handling agent group OGDENS with complete ground handling equipment at Karachi, capable of handling Boeing 747s. In the same year another sister company, Pakistan Aviators and Aviation located at Lahore International airport was purchased along with a hotel for passenger stop overs.
On 24 January 1998 Bhoja Air commenced international flights from Karachi to Dubai. Later, Bhoja Air operated flights to the U.A.E from all major cities of Pakistan. However due to financial difficulties, Bhoja Air suspended its operations in 2001, although its airline licence issued by CAA – Pakistan remained valid and it maintained a fully functional headquarter office in Karachi and an operations and ramp office at Karachi airport. Bhoja Air restarted operations in 2012.
Destinations
Bhoja network covers the following at March 2012:
Pakistan:
Islamabad – Benazir Bhutto International Airport
Karachi – Jinnah International Airport
Lahore – Allama Iqbal International Airport
Multan – Multan International Airport
Sukkur – Sukkur Airport
Fleet
As of April 2012 Bhoja Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:
2 x Boeing 737-200
1 x Boeing 737-400
Former aircraft fleet:
1 x Yakovlev Yak-42D
1 x Boeing 737-200
Incidents and accidents
On 20 April 2012, a Boeing 737-200 (AP-BKC), Bhoja Air Flight 213 carrying 127 people on a flight from Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport destined for Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport crashed near Chaklala killing all on board. Pakistani Defence Ministry officials believe that the plane crashed into a remote residential area. There were also bad weather conditions, with lightning and rain pouring at the time of landing. Eye-witness reports say that the aircraft was already on fire on its landing approach before it crashed. Initial reports suggest that as the pilots of Bhoja Air Flight B4-213 attempted to land amidst rain and strong winds, the unlucky aircraft might have flown into an unexpected wind shear that possibly smashed it on the ground below. The aircraft had been retired by Shaheen Air, and then acquired and placed in service by Bhoja Air in March 2012.
On April 20, 2012, Bhoja Air Flight 213 (a Boeing-737) crashed near the Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi, enroute to Islamabad from Karachi. The cause is thought to be due to bad weather. The crash killed all 121 passengers and 6 crew. It was scheduled to leave Karachi at 17:00 local time (12:00 GMT) and due to arrive at 19:00 (14:00 GMT). Reports suggest the plane was making its final approach to the airport when the crash happened.
via: wikipedia.org
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ISLAMABAD: All 127 people on board a Boeing 737 that crashed near Islamabad in bad weather are dead, hospital and civil aviation officials said on Saturday.
The remains of the victims were shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where 123 were identified while 113 were handed over to their aggrieved relatives.
Hospital sources said that the process of identification with the help of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is underway.
During a news conference, the Director General of Civil Aviation Nadeem Yousufzai said that 122 passengers and five crew members were on board the plane.
A special flight of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) carrying the relatives of air-crash victims had arrived earlier in Islamabad on Saturday.
A special counter has been set up by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at the Islamabad airport to entertain queries.
According to the PIA spokesman, the flight PK-300 was scheduled to take off at 7:00 am but due to the chaotic situation at the airport, it took off at 7:45 am. The flight carried 418 passengers along with members of 94 bereaved families of the crash victims.
The Bhoja Air flight from Karachi came down in fields near a residential area on the edge of the Pakistani capital on Friday evening, as it was attempting to land at the city’s international airport.
Civil aviation official Junaid Khan said: “All 127 people died. No one survived. There was no possibility of any survivor in this crash.”
The airline said the Boeing 737 was carrying 121 passengers, including 11 children, as well as six crew.
Doctor Waseem Khawaja, who is in charge of Islamabad’s main hospital, the PIMS, said bodies had been brought in more than 100 bags.
“There was no survivor, all on board are dead,” Khawaja said.
Witnesses said the plane burst into flames after crashing.
via: thenews.com.pk
Plane crash: FIA takes Farooq Bhoja into custody
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) took Bhoja Air owner Farooq Bhoja into custody on Saturday, reported Express News.
FIA Sindh Director Muazzam Jah Ansari said that Bhoja has not been arrested but is being kept in custody for interrogations. He was taken into custody from his house in the Burns Road area of Karachi.
The FIA also raided his office in the Nursery area and seized official documents for inquiry.
Earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Bhoja’s name has been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Malik, who was speaking to the media at PIMS hospital, said that a probe committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the crash.
“The causes will be investigated, whether it was any fault in the aircraft, bad weather, lightning or any other factor that caused loss of precious lives,” he added.
The interior minister said that till a thorough investigation is carried out, it would be premature to state anything.
The passenger flight travelling from Karachi to Islamabad carrying 121 passengers and six crew members came hurtling down towards the outskirts of Rawalpindi at 6:46pm on Friday evening.
Among the passengers were five infants and six children. There were no survivors.
Bhoja Air’s aged B737-200 took off from Karachi airport at 5:05pm and crashed five nautical miles from Islamabad airport on the village of Hussainabad. However, rescuers said people on the ground remained largely safe as the bulk of the wreckage fell in an open area.
via: tribune.com.pk
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The Air B4-213 Passenger List: List of passengers who had checked in:
Ms. Ghazala Malik * Ex- Shaheen Air International Cabin Crew.
* Lcc Of The Flight B4-213
* She Was One Of The Most Senior Cabin Crew In Shaheen Air.
Ms. Princess Flavia * Ex- Shaheen Air International Cabin Crew.
Princess Flavia Air Hostess Bhoja Airlines Pictures
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Mr. Ammad Laiq * Ex- Shaheen Air International Cabin Crew.
* Most Senior Cabin Crew In Bhoja Air
* His Mother was Also Travelling With Him On Flight.
Seat chart:
Number of adults: 110
Children: 6
Infants: 5
Total passengers: 121
Passengers: 1. Abbas Ali
2. Abida Javed Malik
3. Adeel Chughtai
4. Aiman Ikram
5. Altamash Khan
6. Anisa Akbar
7. Anum Hussain
8. Asif Aftab
9. Asmaa Ahmad
10. Ata Ur Rehman
11. Aziz Ur Rehman
12. Baqir Mehdi
13. Bibi Hameeda
14. Chand Baboo
15. Chaudhry Faiq
16. Dilshad Kamaal
17. Dr. Abdul Qadir
18. Dr. Asad Ullah
19. Fahira Laiq
20. Farah Sajid
21. Fatima (infant)
22. Fehmeeda Zubair
23. Ghulam Farooq Qasmi
24. Ghulam Rehman
25. Gul
26. Gul Faraz
27. Gul Sharif Jana
28. Gul Zaman
29. Habib Ur Rehman
30. Hafeez Ur Rehman
31. Hafsa Chughai
32. Hafsa Shahid
33. Haleema Sadia
34. Hamida Khaidima Baloch
35. Haris Haris
36. Husun Nisa
37. Imran Waheed
38. Irfan Ali
39. Javed Akhtar Malik
40. Javed Iqbal
41. Kalo Abbasi
42. Khawaja Raziuddin
43. Liquat Ali
44. Masooda Begum
45. Mishir Jaan
46. Mohammad Atique Khan
47. Mohammad Latif
48. Mohammad Latif
49. Moiz Sadiq
50. Mrs. Khalida
51. Yumna
52. Muhammad Abdul Hafeez
53. Muhammad Anwar Khan
54. Muhammad Ashfaq Khan
55. Muhammad Farooq
56. Muhammad Irfan
57. Muhammad Irfan
58. Muhammad Qasim
59. Muhammad Shahnawaz
60. Muhammad Sohail
61. Muhammad Younus
62. Muhammada Abdullah
63. Mujtaba Siyal
64. Mukhan Jan
65. Munawar Sutana
66. Musarrat Shaheen
67. Nadir Khan Fazaldad
68. Nasreen
69. Nazneen
70. Nighat Mehdi
71. Nihal Uddin Alvi
72. Nisar Ahmed
73. Nuzhat
74. Qamar Aftab
75. Qari Muhammad Abdul Rahman
76. Rakh Shanda
77. Rakshanda
78. Rashida Rehman
79. Raza Ali Khan Feroz
80. Ree Han
81. S. M. Saud Ishaq
82. Saba Amber
83. Sadaf Baloch
84. Sadaf Tanveer
85. Saeed Khan
86. Saeeda Akhtar
87. Sania Abbas
88. Sarah Chughtai
89. Sardar Shah
90. Sarwat Mumtaz
91. Shabbir Ahmed Awan
92. Shahid Iqbal
93. Shamima Abdullah
94. Shazia Baloch
95. Sobia Ubaid
96. Suleiman Chughtai
97. Sumaiyah Chughtai
98. Syed Muhammad Amjad
99. Syed Muhammad Rizwan
100. Syed Omar Ali
101. Syed Sajjad Ali Rizvi
102. Syeda Amjad Shaheen
103. Syeda Rizwan Sufia
104. Tabassum Sarwat
105. Tabia Rehman
106. Talat Mahmood Qureshi
107. Tanveer Jan
108. Tariq Mehmood
109. Tasadduq Mahmood
110. Tasneem Begum
111. Tuba Shewar
112. Usman Rahim
113. Usman Rasheed
114. Uzma Inam
115. Wajat Abbasi
116. Waji Ha
117. Yasmin Muhammad Sultan
118. Zaheer Shah
119. Zahida Aziz
120. Zaib Un Nisa
121. Zuhra Begum
Crew Members 1. Captain Noor Afridi
2. First Officer Javed Malik
3. Head of Cabin Crew Ammad
4. Flight Purser Ghazala Malik
5. Air Hostess Princess Flavia
6. Air Hostess Sanam Fareed