Biman’s Mayurpankhi will fly again Thursday after hijack drama

The Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane that was stormed by commandos after a hijack attempt by a man is going to fly again 11 days after the drama.

The aircraft was sent for repairs and it will return to normal operations on permission from the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh on Thursday, Biman spokesman Shakil Meraj told bdnews24com on Tuesday.

A man wielding a ‘pistol’, which later came out to be a fake one, hijacked the Dubai-bound Boeing 737-800 christened Mayurpankhi mid-air on way from Dhaka to its stop-over Chattogram on Feb 24.

Army commandos launched an operation to free the aircraft after all the passengers, pilot and crew members had disembarked at Shah Amanat International Airport in the port city.

The suspect, identified as Polash Ahmed alias Mahibi Jahan, was shot and declared dead shortly afterwards.

Meraj, a general manager at Biman, declined comment on whether the aircraft was damaged by bullets during the raid.

“Investigation is under way. We can’t say anything now,” he said. 

He could not say either which route the aircraft will fly.

Three members of Ansar and two security personnel at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka have been suspended while an air force agent has been withdrawn for their alleged negligence in duty amidst questions as to how Polash carried the toy pistol into the aircraft despite searches.

A parliamentary standing committee has asked the civil aviation and tourism ministry for details about the incident.