Crash investigation.

HEART-RENDING stories from the PK-8303 crash on Friday have been trickling through: entire families wiped out, a son coming home on a surprise Eid visit to his parents who will never see him alive again, a young woman returning from a funeral in Lahore only to herself perish, and so on. At least 97 people are confirmed dead, with an unknown number on the ground sustaining injuries when the aircraft came down in a crowded residential locality just off the Karachi airport. Two passengers miraculously survived - pinpricks of light in an otherwise desperately sad episode. The survivors and their families, and the public at large, deserve to know the answer to the question: what led to the flight's catastrophic end? There has been much speculation, largely based on the last few moments of the cockpit crew's communication with the air control tower, which is grossly little information to go on. PIA on Saturday released a summary on the technical history of this particular Airbus A-320 which said there was 'no defect related to the engine, landing gear or major aircraft system'.

The plane crash must be investigated in a transparent manner so the findings are credible and provide the families the most definitive answer possible as to why their loved ones died. However, eyebrows are...