A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Tuesday ordered compensation for the families of victims of the Airblue Flight 202 crash of July 28, 2010, delivering a key verdict after years of prolonged legal proceedings.

The court dismissed all eight appeals filed by the private airline and ordered Airblue to pay compensation amounting to Rs5.41 billion.

It also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the airline for wasting judicial time and filing frivolous petitions.

The written verdict was issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Rasool Bakhsh.

The victims’ families had initially challenged the decision of a civil judge, with the case later taken up by the high court.

The high court subsequently referred the matter back to the jurisdiction of the sessions court for adjudication.

According to investigations by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the crash fell under the category of Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT).

The probe concluded that the flight crew violated safety procedures during landing in poor weather conditions and brought the aircraft to an unsafe low altitude.

Airblue Flight 202 was a domestic passenger service from Karachi to Islamabad.

The aircraft crashed into the Margalla Hills while attempting to land at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, killing 146 passengers and six crew members.

The crash remains the deadliest air disaster in the country’s history.

Investigators attributed the crash to pilot error, descent below safe altitude, violation of standard operating procedures during a circling approach in poor visibility, deficiencies in cockpit resource management, and adverse weather conditions.

Later investigation reports also pointed out errors by air traffic control, which ultimately caused the tragedy.

The ruling is a significant milestone in the affected families’ decades-long struggle, acknowledging their loss and granting fair compensation.

Legal experts say the decision could set an important precedent for aviation liability and compensation cases in Pakistan.

Most families were earlier compelled by Airblue to sign release documents and accept first-tier liability payments as final compensation.

However, several families refused to accept the airline’s offer, choosing instead to pursue legal action on the principle of fair compensation — a struggle that has now concluded with a court-ordered award.