Airblue Crash: Court Awards Rs 5.4 Billion to Victims’ Families After 15-Year Legal Battle. In 2010, Air Blue flight ED 202 crashed into the Margalla Hills while landing in Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board. The accident changed the lives of hundreds of families forever.
As per the details, the victims included Irfan, the 22-year-old son of Karachi fruit vendor Gohar Rehman, Andleeb, the wife of engineer Hamid Junaid, and Haider Zulfiqar Shah, the brother of journalist Qaiser Zulfiqar, whose body was never found.
Following the accident, Air Blue initially paid limited compensation to the affected families, but eight families found it inadequate and took legal action for better and fair compensation. These families argued that the accident was not natural but the result of negligence on the part of the airline and its crew, which was also confirmed in the official inquiry report.
The victims argued in court that the plane was brought down to a dangerously low altitude in bad weather, that the landing procedure was violated and that safety warnings were ignored. Air Blue, on the other hand, argued that it was a domestic flight, so international rules did not apply, and that the company had already paid compensation in excess of the law.
After 15 years of hearings in various courts, the Additional District and Sessions Court (West) of Islamabad ruled that Air Blue was liable for the negligence of its crew. The court said that the airline was directly responsible for the actions of its crew and that the victims had presented solid evidence in support of their claim, while Air Blue had failed to prove its innocence.
The court ordered the eight affected families to pay a total of Rs5.4 billion in compensation, taking into account the Air Carriage Act 2012 and the life expectancy, income and loss suffered by the deceased. Individually, this amount ranges from Rs 140 million to Rs 1.1 billion.
According to the victims’ lawyer, Supreme Court Advocate Umar Farooq Adam, the case was fought in the light of domestic and international laws and a complete financial assessment of the loss was made with the help of an expert chartered accountant. He said that this decision will set a strong example of accountability in such accidents in the future.
According to Hamid Junaid, who lost his wife in the accident, this struggle was not for money but for justice and principles. He said that many families were forced to sign initial agreements due to financial constraints, but eight families continued the legal battle despite all the difficulties and finally achieved justice.
This decision is not only a major victory for the affected families but also sets an important precedent regarding air safety and institutional accountability in Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that earlier this week, Libyan Army Chief killed in plane crash after takeoff in Turkey.
