Considering legal action over technical glitch on PM's flight, says civil aviation minister

The government plans to initiate legal action to find out any possible 'ulterior motive' behind the technical glitch on the plane carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Investigations have so far pointed to 'human error' indicating sloppy maintenance.

"…The prime minister was unharmed, but it's a matter of national security…there had been several attempts on her life in the past," Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon told the media on Sunday after probe panel of his ministry filed its report.

The Biman Bangladesh Airlines' Boeing-777 aircraft carrying the prime minister to Hungary on Nov 27 made an emergency landing at Turkmenistan after a drop in fuel pressure in one of the engines.

The aircraft completed its journey to Hungary after a four hour delay for repairs.

The left engine of Biman Bangladesh Airlines' plane 'Ranga Prabhat' stopped when it was flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on board on Nov 27, forcing an emergency landing in Turkmenistan. File photo

The aviation ministry formed a five-member probe to investigate whether the loose nut in the aircraft’s oil tank was the result of sabotage or lack of maintenance.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) also launched two separate investigations into the incident. They have already reported their findings.

"All of the three inquiries recommend initiating legal action to find out if there was an ulterior motive behind the technical glitch," Menon said.

Six Biman officials – the engineering department’s SM Rokonuzzaman, Samiul Haque, Lutfur Rahman, Milon Chandra Biswas, Zakir Hossain and Technical Officer Siddiqur Rahman – were suspended after Biman’s initial investigation of the incident.

Three more senior Biman engineers - Chief Engineer (Production) Debesh Chowdhury, Chief Engineer (Quality Assurance) SA Siddik and Principal Engineer (System and Maintenance) Billal Hossain - were placed on temporary suspension after Biman submitted its probe report.