Pakistan aircrash: Black box to be taken to US

Islamabad, May 4 (IANS) The black box of a Pakistani passenger aircraft that crashed last month killing 127 people will be taken to the US for decoding, a media report said.

The Bhoja Air 737, on its maiden flight, went down April 20 in stormy weather and burst into flames in Islamabad.

The Civil Aviation Authority's probe team will leave for US May 6 for getting the black box decoded, reported Dawn.

The aircraft had crashed into a village near Islamabad and the authorities have asked the Bhoja airline's administration to repair the damaged houses.

"The airline administration has awarded the contract to a private construction firm to repair the damaged walls and roofs of the houses after allocating Rs.2.6 million for the purpose," a source was quoted as saying.

The airline has also been told to pay compensation to two people whose wheat crop was destroyed.

One of the worst aviation tragedies in Pakistan took place in July 2010 when an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by the private airline Airblue crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi. All 152 people on board were killed in the accident.