Milestone School jet crash caused by pilot’s ‘flight error’, report finds, issues safety recommendations

Air Force training has to be moved outside Dhaka to ensure public safety, investigators recommend

The Milestone School and College plane crash, which claimed 36 lives, was caused by a trainee pilot’s flight error, an investigation committee has found.

The committee submitted its report to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday. In the afternoon, Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam held a briefing on the findings at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

Citing the report, Shafiqul said: “The accident occurred due to a pilot’s flight error. During training, the situation escalated out of his control.”

On Jul 21, a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a building on the Milestone School and College campus. Most of the victims were schoolchildren, making it the deadliest aviation accident in the country’s history.

Shafiqul said, “An investigation committee was formed on Jul 29. Today, its chief, Lt Gen Kamrul Hasan, submitted the report to the chief advisor. The committee interviewed 150 people, including experts, witnesses, and victims, uncovered 168 facts, and issued 33 recommendations.”

To protect public safety, the report recommends relocating all Air Force initial training flights to outside Dhaka.

The building on the Milestone campus was also not constructed in line with RAJUK building codes.

“It should have had at least three staircases; it had only one. More staircases could have reduced casualties,” Alam said.

The report also recommends expanding runways at the Barishal and Bogura airports.