ISLAMABAD, May 10 (Reuters) - Inexperienced pilots and technical failure caused the crash of a Pakistani Fokker F-27 aircraft in 2006 that killed all 45 people on board, Pakistan's state-run news agency reported, quoting a parliament official.

The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) turboprop aircraft, built in 1964, went down two minutes after taking off in the southern city of Multan in July, killing all 41 passengers and four crew.

A government legislator gave a summary of the findings of the inquiry into the accident to parliament on Wednesday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

"The pilots of the plane had not completed enough flying hours and were relatively inexperienced," Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanvir Hussain was quoted as telling the assembly.

Hussain, citing a black box recording of a conversation between the two pilots, said they had decided to fly the aircraft despite sensing a problem in one of its two engines.

"What I can say from the inquiry report is that the crash was the result of the failure of the engineering department of PIA and the lesser-trained pilots," he said.

A PIA spokesman declined to comment and referred questions to the Ministry of Defence, which he said was responsible for the inquiry and the findings.

The inquiry was conducted by a senior Pakistan Air Force officer. The findings will be forwarded to the prime minister for his recommendations, Hussain said.

It was the third Fokker F-27 operated by PIA to crash since 1970.

A PIA Fokker Friendship crashed in Islamabad in 1970 killing 30 people and another crashed in northern Pakistan in 1989, killing 54 people.

AlertNet news is provided by