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SABOTAGE 17 AUGUST 1988

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SABOTAGE 17 AUGUST 1988

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From Crash to Cover up

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سانحہ بہاولپور،تازہ انکشافات

سانحہ بہاولپور،تازہ انکشافات

تحریر: محمد اصغر عبداللہ

17 اگست 1988 ء کے فضائی سانحہ کو جس میں جنرل ضیاالحق اور جنرل اختر عبدالرحمان سمیت پاک فوج کی اعلیٰ ترین قیادت آن واحد میں لقمہ اجل بن گئی، آج قریب قریب تیس برس ہو چکے ہیں ۔ کچھ عرصہ پہلے جنرل ریٹائرڈ خواجہ ضیاالدین سے میری ملاقات ہوئی۔ پس منظر اس کا یہ تھا کہ مجھے معلوم ہوا، اس سانحہ کے وقت خواجہ صاحب بریگیڈئر کے عہدہ پر تھے اور جنرل ضیاالحق کے نئے ملٹری سیکرٹری کے طور پر ان کا انتخاب عمل میں آ چکا تھا۔ اگست کے اواخر میں انھوں نے اپنی ڈیوٹی جوائن کرنا تھی۔ بعد میں اس انتخاب کے تحت ہی جنرل ضیاالحق کے بعد وہ جنرل مرزااسلم بیگ کے ملٹری سیکرٹری مقرر کیے گئے۔ اس طرح17 اگست 1988 ء پر جو پہلی تحقیقاتی رپورٹ تیار ہوئی ، اس کے بارے میں ان کی معلومات براہ راست ہیں۔ دوران گفتگو، جنرل ( ر ) خواجہ ضیاالدین نے ایک بڑی عجیب بات بتائی۔ کہنے لگے، سی 130 ہرکولیس جہاز محفوظ ترین جہاز سمجھا جاتا تھا اور اس وقت تک اس کے ساتھ حادثات کی کوئی لمبی چوڑی تاریخ وابستہ نہیں تھی۔ مگر، جنرل ضیاالحق کے زیراستعمال جہاز بہت پرانے ہوچکے تھے۔ اس بنا پر ان کو کئی بار یہ رائے دی گئی کہ اب انھیں تبدیل کرلیں ، مگر انھوں نے اس پر کوئی توجہ نہ دی ( یاد رہے کہ جنرل ضیاالحق کے زیراستعمال دو سی 130 جہاز تھے ۔ یہ دونوں جہازائر بیس پر تیار کھڑے رہتے تھے اور سیکورٹی کے نقطہ ء نظر سے بالکل آخری لمحوں میں یہ فیصلہ کیا جاتا تھا کہ جنرل ضیاالحق کس جہاز میں سفر کریں گے )17 اگست کی سہ پہر کو جیسے ہی مجھے ان کا جہاز کریش کر جانے کی اطلاع ملی تو میرا پہلا تاثر یہی تھا کہ یہ حادثہ ہی ہو گا؛ کیونکہ کچھ عرصہ اس طرح کے ایک امریکی سی 130 جہاز کو بھی کسی پراسرار خرابی، جس کا مسکن اس کی ٹیل بتائی جاتی تھی، کی وجہ سے حادثہ پیش آ چکا تھا، تاہم اس کا عملہ معجزانہ طور پر محفوظ رہا تھا۔ واقعہ یہ ہے کہ اس کے بعد بھی کافی عرصہ تک میں17 اگست کے سانحہ کو محض ایک حادثہ ہی سمجھتا رہا ۔ مگر پہلی بار میرا ماتھا اس وقت ٹھنکا، جب میں بطور آئی ایس آئی چیف روس کے دورے پر گیا اور وہاں میری روسی جنرلوں اور کے جی بی کے افسروں سے ملاقات ہوئی۔ مجھے یاد ہے، اورآج پہلی بار میں آپ کے ساتھ اپنا یہ تاثر شیئر کر رہا ہوں کہ ایک روز برسبیل تذکرہ افغانستان میں سوویت یونین کی پسپائی اور17 اگست کے سانحہ کا ذکر ہوا، تو ایک روسی جنرل نے بڑے معنی خیز انداز میں میری طرف دیکھتے ہوئے کہا؛ جنرل ضیاالحق اور ان کے آئی ایس آئی چیف جنرل اختر عبدالرحمان نے افغانستان میں ہمارے ساتھ جو کچھ کیا، وہ ہم کیسے معاف کرسکتے تھے۔ روسی جنرل نے جس لب ولہجہ میں یہ بات کہی، اس کے بعد میرے لیے یہ سمجھنا مشکل نہ تھا کہ اس کے آخری الفاط کا اشارہ 17 اگست 1988 کا واقعہ ہی ہے۔ پہلی بار میرا ذہن اس طرف منتقل ہوا کہ اگر 17 اگست کا سانحہ کے پیچھے ضرور کوئی نہ کوئی سازش تھی اور یقیناً روس کی خفیہ ایجنسی کے جی بی کا بھی اس میں کوئی نہ کوئی کردارتھا۔ حقیقتاً 17 اگست 1988 ء کے سانحہ کے آگے پیچھے عالمی حالات وواقعات کا جو ایک طویل سلسلہ ہے، وہ بجائے خود کے پیچھے چھپے کرداروں کو بے نقاب کر دیتا ہے۔مثلاً اوجڑی کیمپ اور جونیجو حکومت کی برطرفی کے فوراً بعد جون 1988ء میں سینر وزیرمحمداسلم خان خٹک نے جنرل ضیاالحق کو یہ اطلاع بہم پہنچا دی تھی کہ ان کی زندگی سخت خطرے میں ہے۔ ان کے الفاظ تھے ، خدا کیلئے اپنی سیکورٹی پر کوئی کمپرومائز نہ کریں ۔ دراصل کچھ ہی گھنٹے پہلے ان کو افغانستان کے اندر سے انتہائی باوثوق ذرائع سے اطلاع ملی تھی کہ افغانستان کی خفیہ ایجنسی’ واد‘ کا ایک سپیشل یونٹ ، جس کو ’کے جی بی‘ کی معاونت بھی حاصل ہے، کو جن لیڈروں کی ہٹ لسٹ دے کر پاکستان میں داخل کیا جا رہا ہے ، ان میں جنرل ضیاالحق اور جنرل اختر عبدالرحمان کے نام سرفہرست ہے۔ اس سے پہلے مئی میں سوویت یونین کی طرف سے جنرل ضیاالحق کو بالواسطہ طو رپر مجاہدین کی امداد بند کرنے کیلئے کہا گیا اور ساتھ ہی دھمکی دی گئی کہ ایسا نہ کرنے کی صورت میں ان کی جان بھی جا سکتی ہے۔ جنرل ضیاالحق کا جواب تھا، بحیثیت مسلمان میرا ایمان ہے کہ موت کا ایک دن معین ہے۔ لہٰذا اس طرح کی دھمکیوں سے مجھے مرعوب کرنے کا کوئی فائدہ نہیں۔ دسمبر 1989ء میں ریڈرزڈائجسٹ نے فوجی امور کے ماہر John Barronکی ایک تحقیقی رپورٹ’’ کیا جنرل ضیاالحق کو قتل کیا گیا‘‘ کے عنوان سے شائع کی ، جس میں 17 اگست کے سانحہ کے حوالہ سے پہلی بار کچھ اہم نکات اٹھائے گئے۔ مثلاً یہ کہ بہاولپور میں ٹینکوں کی جس نمایش کو دیکھنے کیلئے جنرل ضیاالحق گئے یا ان کو اس کیلئے آمادہ کیا گیا، اس کیلئے ان کا جانا ضروری نہیں تھااور جنرل اختر عبدالرحمان تو پہلے اس میں جا ہی نہیں رہے تھے۔ مگر حیران کن طور پر دونوں کو ایک بالکل ایک غیر اہم نمایش دیکھنے پر راضی کر لیا گیا ۔ سانحہ کی جو ابتدائی رپورٹ پاکستانی اور امریکی ائرفورس کے انکوائری بورڈ نے تیار کی ، اس میں جہاز کی اندرونی خرابی یا بیرونی حملے کے امکان کو بالکل مسترد کردیا گیا اور کہا گیا کہ most probably was caused by a criminal act or sabotage . یعنی بادی النظر میں یہ حادثہ کے بجائے سبوتاژ کی کاروائی معلوم ہوتی ہے۔ انکوائری بورڈ نے مزید تحقیقات کیلئے ایک اعلیٰ سطح کی کمیٹی بنانے کی سفارش بھی کی۔ جائے وقوعہ پر کیمیائی ماہرین کو جو مواد ملا ، اس کا تجزیہ کرنے کے بعدانھوں نے جو رپورٹ دی، وہ یہ تھی کہ A chemical agent may well have been used to cause incapacitate of the flight crew . ، یعنی اغلب یہ ہے کہ جہاز کا عملے کو کسی کیمیاوی عمل سے بے ہوش کر دیا گیا، جس کی وجہ سے جہاز پر اس کا فضائی عملہ اپنا کنٹرول کھو چکا تھا۔ مختصر یہ کہ پاکستانی اور امریکی ائرفورس کی پہلی انکوائری رپورٹ ، جو 365 صفحات پر مشتمل تھی، جہاز میں کسی مکینیکل خرابی کے امکان کو یکسر مستردکردیا گیا۔یہ بات بھی عجیب وغریب تھی کہ امریکی سفیر آرنلڈ رافیل کی حادثہ میں ہلاکت کے باوجود امریکی ایف بی آئی نے 17 اگست کے حادثہ میں کوئی دلچسپی نہیں لی۔بلکہ بہت بعد میں جب وہ آئی بھی ، تب بھی اپنی پیشہ ورانہ شہرت کے برخلاف ایک گول مول رپورٹ دے کر خاموشی سے واپس چلی گئی۔ 17 اگست کے سانحہ کے بارے میں ان ’’سازشی کہانیوں‘‘ کو ایک لمحے کیلئے فراموش کر دیا جائے اور تاریخ و سیاست کے ایک طالب علم کے طور پر اس سانحہ پر غورکیا جائے توبھی یہ سمجھنا مشکل نہیں کہ بیسویں صدی کی آٹھویں دہائی کے اواخر میں جب افغانستان سے سوویت یونین کا انخلا ہو رہا تھا اور امریکہ ، سوویت یونین اور ان کے اتحادی اس خطہ کیلئے نیا منظر نامہ لکھ رہے تھے، تو اس میں جنرل ضیاالحق اور جنرل اختر عبدالرحمان کی کوئی گنجائش نہ تھی۔ بھارت اور افغانستان کی انجنسیاں پہلے ہی انگاروں پر لوٹ رہے تھے۔ ’را ‘سمجھتی تھی، افغانستان میں سوویت یونین کے خلاف پاکستان کی کامیابی سے شہ پا کر مقبوضہ کشمیر میں بھی الحاق پاکستان کی تحریک میں تیزی آگئی ہے۔’ را ‘کے حوالہ سے یہ بات بروس رائیڈل نے اپنی کتاب میں بھی لکھی ہے۔ یوں ایک ہی وقت میں پاکستان کے خلاف کے جی بی ، سی آئی اے ، خاد اور’ را ‘ ایک صفحہ پر آ چکی تھیں۔ اندرونی اور بیرونی سازش کاروں کو پاکستان کی فوجی قیادت سے بدلہ چکانے کیلئے اس سے بہتر موقع نہیں مل سکتا تھا۔ عالمی بساط سیاست پر ایک دوسرے کے حریف ایک دوسرے کے خلاف کھلی اور خفیہ ہر طرح کی کارروائیاں کرتے ہیں، مگر زندہ قومیں اس طرح کی کاروائیوں کے پس پردہ کرداروں کو بہرصورت بے نقاب کرتی ہیں۔ یہ بدنصیبی بحیثیت قوم شاید ہمارے نصیب میں ہی لکھی تھی کہ سانحہ1988 ء جس میں چیف آف آرمی سٹاف اور چیرمین جوائنٹ چیفس آف سٹاف سمیت فوج کے دودرجن اعلی فوجی افسر شہید ہوگئے ، آج تیس سال بعد بھی قوم کو معلوم نہیں کہ اس سانحہ کے پیچھے کون سے خفیہ ہاتھ کارفرما تھے ۔ انااللہ وانا الیہ راجعون ۔ نہ دست وناخن قاتل ، نہ آستیں پہ نشاں نہ سرخی لب خنجر ، نہ رنگ نوک سناں کہیں نہیں ہے ، کہیں بھی نہیں لہو کا سراغ

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Was Gen Zia and Gen Akhtar murdered ?-Part 2

Behind the plane crash that killed Gen Zia and Gen Akhter lurk the specters of sabotage – and cover – up Board of inquiry found no evidence that human error or technical failure caused the crash and concluded that crash “most probably was caused by a criminal act or sabotage “. Its summery stated :” A chemical agent may have been used to cause incapacitate of the flight crew .
U.S law authorizes FBI counter terrorism specialists to investigate terrorist acts against Americans abroad and FBI immediately prepared to dispatch a team to Pakistan. On August 21, the State Department verbally granted clearance , but within hours , revoked it on the basis of ” additional considerations “.
Pakistan literally burred buried potentially critical evidence . Some bodies recovered from the crash , including those of the flight crew , were substantially intact .
The Kabul regime which had tried to kill Zia , and the Soviets also had much to gain by eliminating him and Gen Akhter .
Sabotage could only have resulted from a plot much too sophisticated to be executed by a terrorist organization or the Afghan alone . Somebody in Pakistan had to make the arrangements that led Zia to Bahawalpur and enticed Akhter to accompany him . Somebody had to make sure Zia’s plane landed at a field too small to accommodate two C – 130s . Somebody had to see to it that security was lax enough to permit an agent to slip a device aboard the plane . And somebody had to prevent the autopsies that might have disclosed what silenced the pilots before the crash .
BY JOHN BARRON
After the crash , with troops guarding the area , a Board of inquiry composed of Pakistanis and assisted by U.S Air Force officers began a rigorous investigation investigation. Lockheed safety inspectors and experts in forensic medicine , aircraft structures , flame patterns and explosives joined them . The investigation determined that the pilot and co – pilot were professionally competent and physically fit .The C – 130 was not hit by a missile . There was no fire or major explosion inside the plane prior to the crash . Its fuel was uncontaminated . The plane had been structurally sound . All four engines were functioning normally as were the propellers and electrical system . In Sum , the Board of inquiry found no evidence that human error or technical failure caused the crash .
Chemists did discover in the cockpit and else where abnormal traces of several chemicals , including antimony, PETN , phosphorus and sulfur . From these a Pakistani research Laboratory postulated and later recreated a low intensity detonator , the kind that could pop open a canister or other container The Board concluded that crash “most probably was caused by a criminal act or sabotage “. Its summery stated :” A chemical agent may have been used to cause incapacitate of the flight crew . “
Quite logically , the Board recommended further investigation ” to determine the perpetrators of the criminal act of sabotage . But from the outset , both the Pakistani government and the U.S State Department behaved as if they did not want to find out — or let the world know — what really happened. U.S law authorizes FBI counter terrorism specialists to investigate terrorist acts against Americans abroad and FBI immediately prepared to dispatch a team to Pakistan.
On August 21, the State Department verbally granted clearance , but within hours , revoked it on the basis of ” additional considerations “. For three weeks Executive Assistant Director Oliver Revell repeatedly appealed to the State Department and foreign affairs bureaucracy to allow the FBI to do its duty . All in vain. Says Revell, ‘ To this day , we never have received a satisfactory explanation of why we were excluded to keep us out . ” The day after the crash , according to the FBI , Defense Department investigators at the scene indicated that ” the crash was not the result of mechanical failure.” But subsequent news stories quoted anonymous State Department and administration officials as saying ,” American experts ” believed that the mechanical failure caused the crash . These leaks gave the impression that is was simply an accident . In fact , according to one ranking Pakistani official , the U.S embassy in Islamabad passed along the word to Pakistani authorities that they should not use the crash to embarrass the Soviets , that they should not ” twist the bear’s tail . ” Meanwhile authorities in Pakistan literally buried buried potentially critical evidence . Some bodies recovered from the crash ,including
those of the flight crew , were substantially intact . At the Bahalpur military hospital , doctors removed and refrigerated tissue in anticipation of autopsies and did perform one of the General Wassom . But according to hospital sources , and official order prohibited autopsies , which could have shown if the pilots were affected by disabling chemicals . All remains were interred . Pakistan’s new prime minister , Benazir Bhutto , openly hated Zia because he deposed and later sanctioned the hanging of her father , former socialist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto . After Zia’s death , she declared , ” It must have been the act of God . The Bahawalpur police who observed peculiar events at the airport were not thoroughly questioned by criminal investigators . Pakistani officers who participated in security arrangement told the Digest that neither they nor anyone else involved had ever been interrogated . in effect , President Zia , Gen Akhter , Ambassador Raphel and General Wassom were written off by the Pakistani and U.S governments . However the FBI did not give up . With the cooperation of Pakistani authorities American counter terrorism specialists pored over the findings of Pakistani Board of Inquiry . Technical experts examined debris taken to U.S labs . Agents interviewed every air force officer who assisted the Pakistanis in the technical investigation . These officers were careful to point out that failure to find evidence of mechanical malfunction does not prove that one did not occur . But all analysts agreed that sabotage remained a distinct possibility . Certainly there were people who had powerful motives to do away with Zia . One was Benazir Bhutto’s brother Murtaza . After his father’s death , he and his younger brother fled to Afghanistan , where , with the help of the communist regime , they formed a terrorist organization called Al – Zulfikar . Murtaza boasted of numerous acts of sabotage against Pakistan . In an interview published by the London Observer , he bragged that ” he had tried to assassinate Zia five times and lamented that someone else succeeded instead of me . ” The Kabul regime which had tried to kill Zia , and the Soviets also had much to gain by eliminating him and Gen Akhter .
Sabotage could only have resulted from a plot much too sophisticated to be executed by a terrorist organization or the Afghan alone .
Somebody in Pakistan had to make the arrangements that led Zia to Bahawalpur and enticed Akhter to accompany him . Somebody had to make sure Zia’s plane landed at a field too small to accommodate two C – 130s . Somebody had to see to it that security was lax enough to permit an agent to slip a device aboard the plane . And somebody had to prevent the autopsies that might have disclosed what silenced the pilots before the crash . Finally early this summer , the FBI was able to reopen its investigation in Pakistan . The shame was that the trail had been allowed to grow so cold . Reader’s Digest
page 20 – 22

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Was Gen Zia and Gen Akhtar murdered ?

Behind the plane crash that killed Gen Zia and Gen Akhter lurk the specters of sabotage – and cover – up Facts occurred before and up till 17 August 1988
Also marked was Gen AKhter Abdul Rehman , the likely successor to Zia . No one understand better than President Zia Akhter’s astounding accomplishments in Afghanistan .
After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 , Zia ordered Akhter to organize a clandestine Afghan resistance . The General provided briliant , setting up secret supply lines , training camps and sanctuaries for the mujahedin and pulling together more than 40 guerrilla factions into a seven party alliance .
In July 1988 , Zia spoke privately to the General with such emotion that his eyes teared , ” You have wrought a miracale ” , he said ,” I can give you nothing worthy of your achievement . Only God can reward you . “
Zia and Akhter had indeed helped accomplish a miracle – the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan . If that defeat were to be reversed , both men had to be eliminated .
Gen Akhter had not planned to attend the demonstration . But on the late afternoon of August 16 , a trusted subordinate conferred with Akhter in his quarters . Akther phoned Zia to say he had just acquired vital information . Zia told the general to brief him during flight the next day . Thus what Akhter was told by his aide put him aboard the president aircraft on the morning of August 17 .
This C – 130 could have landed on the large civilian air field at Multan near demonstration area . instead it went to Bahawalpur, where the air field was too small to accomodate two C – 130s . Pak two had to remain at the Chaklala base . Thus there was no doubt about which plane the president would take back to Chaklala .
John Barron
” You are in grave danger . In the name of God , take precautions ” .
Pakistan President Mohammad Zia ul Haq heard this warning at a secret cabinet session in June 1988 from a respected senior minister
M.A.K Khattak . Hours before Khattak had learned from a trusted source inside Afhanistan that a special assassination unit of WAD ( the Afghan secret police controlled by the Soviet KGB ) had a list of Pakistani leaders to be liquidated . Heading the list President Zia . Also marked was Gen AKhter Abdul Rehman , the likely successor to Zia . No one understand better than President Zia Akhter’s astounding accomplishments in Afghanistan . In July 1988 , Zia spoke privately to the General with such emotion that his eyes teared , ” You have wrought a miracale ” , he said ,” I can give you nothing worthy of your achievement . Only God can reward you . ” Zia and Akhter had indeed helped accomplish a miracle – the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan . If that defeat were to be reversed , both men had to be eliminated .
After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 , Zia ordered Akhter to organize a clandestine Afghan resistance . The General provided briliant , setting up secret supply lines , training camps and sanctuaries for the mujahedin and pulling together more than 40 guerrilla factions into a seven party alliance .
After U.S arms began to flow through the supply lines , the course of the war changed . With the soviets on the defensive . Gen Akhter coordinated mujahedin attacks in which they slaughtered the Russians in battle . To force Zia to stop supporting tht mojahedin , the Soviets initiated a terror compaign against Pakistan . , killing innocent civilians in a series of explosions . In 1987 alone , WAD attacks killed 234 and wounded 1200 , about half of all the deaths in injuries from terrorism worldwide . But Zia did not flinch . The stream of arms and supplies to mujahedin swelled , and their victories multiplied . Finally last year , Gorachev bagan to withdraw his troops . But if the mujahedin were denied combat supplies , then Kabul’s communist regime might survive . So the Soviets stepped up their threats against Pakistan and Zia .
Zia had every reason to take the threats seriously since 1981 at least four attempts had been made on his life . In the summer of 1988 , according to a Zia aid , a Soviet emissary again tried intimidation . Zia responded , ” Your threats are futile . As a good moslem , I believe that the day of my death is fixed . There is nothing i can do to change it . “
In early August , Zia make a fateful decision . For some time a subordinate had urged him to attend a demonstration of a new American tank on August 17 at a military base in eastern Pakistan .Though he expressed to his family and aides mystification at the persistence of this person , he finally agreed to make the trip – acquiescing to arguments that his presence would buoy the morale of the armed forces. In retrospect , there were troubling signs that the trip was an artfully laid trip .
Gen Akhter had not planned to attend the demonstration . But on the late afternoon of August 16 , a trusted subordinate conferred with Akhter in his quarters . Akther phoned Zia to say he had just acquired vital information . Zia told the general to brief him during flight the next day . Thus what Akhter was told by his aide put him aboard the president aircraft on the morning of August 17 . The Pakistan air force customarily provided Zia with two lockheed C – 130 prop jets . To ward off would be assassins , security officers often waited until the last minute to announce which he would board .
Two C – 130s waited at the Chaklala air base near the city of Rawalpindi on August 17 . When officers escorted Zia , Akhter , U.S Ambassador Arnold Raphel , Brig . Gen . Herbert Wassom , the U.S Defence representative to Pakistan , and a number of senior Pakistani generals aboard on of the planes , it was automatically designated Pak One .
This C – 130 could have landed on the large civilian air field at Multan near demonstration area . instead it went to Bahawalpur, where the air field was too small to accomodate two C – 130s . Pak two had to remain at the Chaklala base . Thus there was no doubt about which plane the president would take back to Chaklala .
According to personnel present , while Zia and his entourage were at the demonstartion , three different forces secured the airfield . Regular airport and military police watched the approached ; and army detachment formed a cordon about 400 yards from Pak one ; local civilian police guarded the aircraft . This odd arrangements divided authority . A local police official saw two civilians enter the plane , ostensibly to perform minor repairs . He was contemptuous of the ease with which they boarded , but he did not have the power to challenge them .
Pak one’s pilot , wing commander Mashood Farrukh , its co pilot Sajid Chaudhry , an engineer and a navigator were completing preflight checks when the presidential party returned about 3:30 P.m. In clear, tranquil weather , Pak one lifted off at 3:46 p.m. From the Bawalpur control tower , airport manager Shaheen Fazil tried to contact the pilots . Receiving no answer . Shaheen asked Pak two , which had flown down Rawalpindi , to try to raise Pak one . In response to its call , co – pilot Sajid said only , ” Standby ! Standby ! The pilot of Pak two and a second plane waiting to take off from Bahawalpur heard a faint transmission from Pak One . Both pilots thought the voice was that of Zia’s aide Brigadier Najib Ahmed . He cried : ” Mashood ! Mashood ! what are you doing .?” These were the last words heard from the president’s plane . Roughly two minutes after take off , witnesses on the ground saw that Pak One was pitching wildly . Both pilot and co – pilot wore small microphones and could have contacted ground control . Yet for the next two minutes , while the aircraft bucked violently , no one transmitted a word . Just before 3:51 P.m about eight miles from the airport , the plane plunged into a 65 degree dive and crashed head on into the earth . Every one on board was instantly killed .

Reader’s Digest
December 1989
Page 17 – 19

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