Nine Biman officials charged in police case over PM plane malfunction

A case has been started against nine Biman Bangladesh Airlines officials over the engine malfunction that forced the plane carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make emergency landing

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 Dec 2016, 09:25 PM
Updated : 20 Dec 2016, 09:25 PM

The flag carrier earlier suspended nine officials, including eight engineers, after investigations.

It could not be confirmed whether those nine have been accused in the case.

Police have not disclosed the nature of the charges brought against them.

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

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon earlier said the investigators were checking whether the incident was an act of sabotage.

Airport Police Station OC Noor-e-Azam Mia told bdnews24.com that MAM Asaduzzaman, a Biman director (engineering and management), initiated the case around 11pm on Tuesday.

Biman's Boeing-777 aircraft carrying the prime minister to Hungary on Nov 27 made an emergency landing at Turkmenistan after a drop in engine oil or lubricant pressure in one of the engines.

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

Apart from Biman, the civil aviation ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) are also investigating the incident.

Following initial investigations by Biman, six of its officials – the engineering department’s SM Rokonuzzaman, Samiul Haque, Lutfur Rahman, Milon Chandra Biswas, Zakir Hossain and Technical Officer Siddiqur Rahman – were suspended three days after 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 suspension after the final investigation report was submitted.