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Report: Plane lost control before crashing

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 21 (UPI) -- The captain of an airliner that crashed in Pakistan Friday, killing 127 people, told the control tower the plane was getting out of control, a report said.

The preliminary report by the Civil Aviation Authority also said the fuel tank of the plane had exploded, Dawn News reported.

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Bhoja Air Flight B4-213 from Karachi to Islamabad crashed as it tried to land in a thunderstorm Friday at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport

The airline has blamed the weather.

Pilots and air accident experts told Dawn the crash was consistent with what could have been caused by wind shear.

Dawn said neither the aging plane nor the airport had a wind shear-detection system that could have forewarned pilots and controllers.

Wind shear with fast changes in wind patterns could cause an aircraft to lose speed and altitude.

The pilots were landing under a headwind of as much as 46 mph.

Bhoja, based in Pakistan, had resumed operations in March after it suspended operations in 2001 because of financial difficulties, Dawn said.

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