Captain Nawshad, who suffered a heart attack mid-air, passed away on August 30. But his name will remain alive in the hearts of many forever. The 124 passengers and six crew of the Boeing 737 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines flying from Muscat to Dhaka could never forget the brave pilot who, risking his own life, made a safe landing at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur.
Though Captain Nawshad Ataul Quaiyum suffered a massive cardiac arrest on flight, he remained calm and careful till the emergency landing in Nagpur. Imagining how much responsibility one must possess to make this heroic landing makes us bow our heads in respect to the captain.
However, this is not the first time the cool-headed captain showed his mettle. By now, almost all of us have come to know about his skills and bravery that saved 149 passengers and seven crew members in 2016. That time, he conducted an emergency landing of a Muscat-Chittagong flight at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after a tyre of the plane’s left landing gear burst moments before takeoff.
Captain Nawshad, by flying the plane low, identified which tyre was affected and then landed the aircraft on a single tyre. This jaw-dropping real life landing even defeats any thriller of Hollywood movies.
Such skill, sense of responsibility, and bravery of Nawshad Quaiyum should shake the nation’s conscience. Yes, newspapers did reports and tv channels aired the stories on Captain Nawshad’s demise as well as his heroic journeys. But unfortunately, we did not see one-tenth of the media’s hysteria we saw in the case of Pori Moni.
We saw numerous media headlines on the bail news of Pori Moni on front pages. How many of them gave the same treatment to the stories of Captain Nawshad in 2016, or this time in 2021? Commentaries and conversations on Pori Moni are galore in social media -- many praised the guts of the heroine, many more demanded justice for her before the bail. But how of many of us praised captain Nawshad? How many of us are demanding due honour to the captain and his family? Very few, in comparison.
I don’t have any personal grudge against Pori Moni. Nor am I against the call for justice for her. But I wonder: Are we giving too much priority to glamour rather than glory?
The stories of Captain Nawshad need to be glorified to inspire all young flying cadets of the country. As Abraham Lincoln once said: “A nation that does not honour its heroes will not long endure.” If we hold high the heroism of Captain Nawshad, our youngsters will learn that heroes never die.
People’s curiosity about heroes and heroines on celluloid is instinctive, but we should always highlight real life heroes and heroines like Captain Nawshad and offer due respect to them. Because heroes are born in countries where they are respected.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has mourned the death of Captain Nawshad Ataul Quaiyum. The PM, in a condolence message, prayed for eternal peace of his departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation and Tourism State Minister M Mahbub Ali and Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain also expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Captain Nawshad.
We hope the government will also come forward to take care of the family of Captain Nawshad, and especially his three children. To respect the heroism of Nawshad, the Civil Aviation Authority could name a road of the airport after the captain. Last but not the least, if the lounge of the Biman at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is renamed “Captain Nawshad Lounge,” and a display is built there showcasing his skills and bravery, passengers of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in the years to come will know the scintillating tales of this hero of our times.
Omar Gias is a communication and branding professional serving in the private sector. He can be reached at omargiasbd@gmail.com.