Bhoja Air Flight 213

Bhoja Air Flight 213

The aircraft involved in the accident while still in operation with British Airways Comair in 2009
Accident summary
Date	20 April 2012
Summary	Microburst induced windshear countered by inappropriate pilot response
Site	Rawalpindi, Pakistan 33°35′15″N 73°08′55″E / 33.58750°N 73.14861°E / 33.58750; 73.14861Coordinates: 33°35′15″N 73°08′55″E / 33.58750°N 73.14861°E / 33.58750; 73.14861
Passengers	121
Crew	6
Fatalities	127 (all)
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-236A
Operator	Bhoja Air
Registration	AP-BKC
Flight origin	Jinnah International Airport, Karachi
Destination	Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad

Bhoja Air Flight 213 (B4 213/BHO213) was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by the Pakistani airline Bhoja Air. On 20 April 2012, the Boeing 737–236 aircraft, flying from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, crashed in bad weather during its approach to Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad. All 121 passengers and 6 crew members aboard were killed in the crash. This was the inaugural flight of Bhoja Air's second daily service on this route.

It was the second-deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan, the deadliest one being the 2010 crash of Airblue Flight 202 that killed all 152 on board, and is the fourth deadliest accident involving the Boeing 737-200 series.

The aircraft was a Boeing 737–236, registered AP-BKC, Built as msn 23167, it first flew on 13 December 1984 and was delivered to British Airways on 7 January 1985 (registration G-BKYI), it was subsequently acquired by codeshare operation Comair (registered as ZS-OLB) in June 1999. The aircraft operated South African domestic routes until late 2010 when Comair retired its 737-200 fleet and it was sold to Bhoja Air in January 2012.

The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, which was the airline's first evening flight in almost 12 years. (Bhoja Air was earlier closed down amidst financial difficulties in the year 2000, but restarted operations in March 2012). There were six crew and 121 passengers on board. The flight departed from Karachi at 17:00 PST (12:00 UTC) and was due to land at Islamabad at 18:50 (13:50 UTC). At 18:40 PKT, the aircraft crashed 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) short of its destination, near the village of Hussainabad, Rawalpindi. All 127 people on board were killed. The landing was attempted during heavy rain and a thunderstorm.. Initial reports suggested that as the pilots attempted to land amidst rain and strong winds, the aircraft may have flown into an unexpected wind shear, which smashed it onto the ground below. However, eyewitnesses stated that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning prior to the crash, describing it as a "ball of fire." A following Airblue flight landed safely five minutes after the accident occurred.