It was the lack of focus and concentration of such pilots that had caused the Karachi air crash, Pakistan’s Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said. (Courtesy: AP/PTI photo/ File)

Karachi plane crash probe: After the investigation report in the Karachi air crash put the blame on pilots and the air traffic control in the accident that killed 97 people, reports said Pakistan’s national carrier Pakistan International Airlines has grounded 150 pilots with “dubious licenses.”

A report in PTI quoted the spokesperson for the Pakistan International Airlines as saying that six pilots with fake degrees have already been dismissed, all the while admitting that grounding so many pilots simultaneously would majorly affect the flight operation of PIA.

Geo News quoted PIA spokesperson as saying that only the pilots who get their licenses verified will be allowed back on duty.

The report further quoted the spokesperson as saying that Pakistan International Airlines had asked Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority for the list of the remaining licenses,. The spokesperson added that PIA had acknowledged the crash investigation report and was working towards improving standards.

PIA chairman was quoted by PTI as saying that the airline was taking all necessary steps to make flying with it safe and it would take action against all the pilots with fake licenses.

Pakistan’s Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that a large number of commercial pilots in the country were flying with ‘dubious licences’, the report added.

It was the lack of focus and concentration of such pilots that had caused the Karachi air crash, Khan said.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash that took place in Karachi was blamed on human error by the pilots and air traffic control.

On May 22, a domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi had crashed in a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi killing 97 people.