A Bangladesh Biman flight to Dubai had to be cancelled on Sunday after the nose of a Boeing aircraft hit the tail of another aircraft at the hangar of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The flight was later rescheduled for 11am on Monday.
Both the aircraft – Boeing 737 and Boeing 777 – were scratched during handling and were sent to the engineering and maintenance unit.
The incident occurred sometime after 3pm on Sunday, a high official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, seeking anonymity, told Dhaka Tribune.
“Officials are inspecting the aircraft and assessing the losses,” the official added.
However, no one from the engineering unit commented on the matter.
According to another source at the airport, the accident occurred when a Boeing, entering the hangar after repair work was completed on it, hit another aircraft.
Nothing new
This is the third such incident to have occurred since mid-February this year, leading to several aircraft being grounded and raising questions about the national flag carrier’s maintenance.
According to people familiar with the issue, these incidents could have been avoided with advanced and careful maintenance.
On February 15, a Boeing 737 aircraft of Biman was brought back from Malaysia after a windshield crack was noticed mid-flight en route to Kuala Lumpur two days earlier.
On March 6, another Boeing was damaged when a bird hit an engine of the plane during landing at Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport.
Biman’s engineering department and maintenance unit says that with the latest incident, four aircraft have been grounded.
Among the four aircraft, the Boeing 787 damaged at Sylhet airport will be sent to Singapore for repairs.
According to Biman insiders, the accidents are caused largely due to carelessness and have the potential to damage public confidence in the airline.
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Aviation expert and former Biman board member Kazi Wahidul Alam told Dhaka Tribune that Biman is in the peak business period ahead of the Eid festival and grounding several aircraft would lead to a schedule crisis as well.
He opined that for such technical maintenance, the national carrier needed to recruit more skilled manpower and provide necessary training to recruits.
Another aviation expert, ATM Nazrul Islam, said that inefficient supervision by the higher authorities also contributed to such incidents.
“There is no accountability for officials and staff working at the maintenance unit,” he said.
Biman spokesperson Tahera Khandakar and Managing Director Mostafa Kamal could not be reached over the phone for their comments.
