KARACHI:
Investigators looking into the K2 Airways cargo plane crash are looking into the possibility of a malfunction in the plane’s Inertial Reference System (IRS) as well as spatial disorientation as potential causes of the crash, while the plane’s black box, engines, fuselage and crew have yet to be recovered.
According to sources, preliminary investigations focus on a possible technical fault in the plane’s Inertial Reference System (IRS), along with the possibility that the pilots may have experienced spatial disorientation before the crash.
Sources said the IRS is a critical navigation system that provides pilots with information about the aircraft’s position, direction of travel, flight attitude and speed. The system is capable of operating independently without relying on external navigation signals.
Investigators are also looking into the possibility of spatial disorientation, a very dangerous aviation condition in which a pilot loses accurate awareness of the aircraft’s actual position, direction or movement and perceives a false sense of orientation.
According to sources, a fault in the plane’s navigation system had emerged as an area of focus during the preliminary investigation. They added that shortly before the crash the flight crew had requested heading guidance from air traffic control.
Meanwhile, on the fifth day of the salvage and rescue operation on Saturday, rescue teams were still unable to locate the plane’s black box.
Sources said the plane’s engines and flight data recorder are critical evidence in determining the cause of the crash. Investigators believe that once the black box is recovered and its data decoded, a clearer picture of the events leading up to the crash is expected to emerge.
