The information was provided in an article written in this newspaper on Friday by a Non-Resident Bangladeshi who is also an aircraft engineer. Describing it a ‘dangerous phenomenon’, he also said the aviation authority’s this trend will discourage to grow expertise in this relevant field.
In fact, the aviation industry of our country is now passing a very difficult time. Last month, 51 passengers, including pilot and co-pilot, were killed when an aircraft of the US-Bangla Airlines carrying 71 people crashed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal. Although the real reason behind the accident is not yet known, the preliminary findings blamed misunderstanding between Airport Traffic Control and Cockpit Officials for the tragedy.
Truly to say, mismanagement and corruption have been going hand-in-hand in CAAB and country’s flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines for a long time. Rather than giving service to its passengers, the Biman has become infamous for its irregular flight operations and carrying smuggled gold. Side by side, the CAAB has also failed to show its capability to operate and guide the country’s booming aviation industry – government and private sectors. Both the two major organs, CAAB and Biman have been operated by unskilled and non-professional persons from the very beginning.
At present, Air Vice-Marshal M Naim Hassan is the Chairman of the CAAB while the Director (Flight Safety & Regulations) Wing Commander Chowdhury M Ziaul Kabir is also a GD pilot. Pointing the issue, the writer in the article said ‘with very little knowledge of civil aviation, these guys are becoming CAAB Chairman, member of Operations & Planning and Director of Flight Safety and Regulations…Our aviation safety is in danger and we are sitting on time bomb.’ He further raised question what kind of qualifications and experience the Director (Flight Safety & Regulations) had before joining CAAB?
The same question may be raised for appointment of officials in each and every tier of the Civil Aviation Authority. Former Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon was transferred to Social Welfare Ministry apparently for his inability to handle the sector. Menon is a life-long leftist politician and he was rewarded with the Aviation Ministry only for his loyalty to the ruling party’s top brass. The current Minister A.K.M. Shahjahan Kamal is also a novice. His only qualification — he is a ruling Awami League Parliament member from the Lakshmipur-3 Constituency and one of the Directors of State-run Janata Bank Limited.
It is noteworthy that, safety issue inside the aircraft and airport was also another grave concern by some foreign countries, including US, UK and Australia. UK in February last withdrew the cargo ban from Bangladesh but still there is no green signal visible from Australia.
Apart from cargo flights, several passenger flights including a couple of VVIP flights carrying PM had to face major difficulties in the mid-air and time of landing. Sometimes these were called human error, or technical glitch and sometimes deliberate effort, negligence or unprofessional attitudes. A number of officials, including eight Biman Engineers were detained and later interrogated by the members of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Unit in apprehension of sabotage. Nothing was proved till the date and the danger is still there.
All the subsequent governments after country’s independence have been bearing a huge amount of loss every year in operating the Biman. The CAAB could do nothing to rescue the organization from sinking. Whereas, it always encourages a section of officials to buy old and unfit aircraft not only for the Biman but also for private airliners. It is nothing but sharing of commission. The crashed aircraft of US-Bangla was a 17-year-old plane. And it managed to get fitness certificate from the CAAB!
We think, if the government does not take drastic action to modify the entire aviation industry including reshuffling the total administration of Biman and CAAB, the nation will have to bear the burden of the white elephant for an uncertain period.
