Bhoja Air crash plane was nearly 30 years old

ISLAMABAD: The Bhoja Air plane which crashed near Islamabad, killing all 127 people on board, was nearly three decades old, officials said on Saturday, but had been approved to fly by aviation authorities.

The Boeing 737-200 was 28 years old and had been bought on dry lease from a South African company, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official who asked not to be named told AFP.

A Bhoja Air official insisted that despite its age, the plane was safe to fly.

"The aircraft was old and second hand but it is not something unusual. The fleet of state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also runs old aircraft," Bhoja Air official Masham Zafar told AFP.