World shorts Sabotage killed General Zia
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1988.
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Air Force Commander Abbas Mirza, who released the report at a news conference, said an investigation into the Aug. 17 plane crash failed to uncover conclusive evidence of sabotage. The report said some suspicious quantities of chemicals were discovered. Pakistan's long-awaited report on the plane crash ruled out mechanical failure.
Mirza said witnesses made repeated references to the erratic "up and down" motion of the aircraft before it made a vertical dive to the ground. Witnesses also said the aircraft was not on fire prior to the crash, Mirza said.
"There is no evidence of in-flight fire," Mirza said. Mirza said there was nothing mechanically wrong with the flight-control systems on the aircraft.
There has been speculation that a bomb, missile or tampering with the plane's engines, caused the fiery crash. Those blamed in the reports and rumors have included the Soviet Union, fundamentalist Moslems, and Afghan and Indian agents.
Although U.S. experts took part in the investigation of the crash, U.S. officials have refused to make any disclosures about the investigation, citing the sensitivity of the case.
