Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended five of its officials, including the principal engineer, in connection with the collision between two Boeing aircraft at the hangar of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The decision was taken at the Biman Board meeting on the basis of the report of the ministry of civil aviation and tourism.
The suspended officials are Aircraft Chief Engineer Mohammad Badrul Islam, Engineer Mainul Islam, Engineer Syed Bahaul Islam, Engineer Selim Hossain Khan, and GSE Operator Hafizur Rahman.
According to the ministry investigation report, the Biman officials were held responsible for flouting Section 55 of the service rules of Bangladesh Biman Corporation Employees (1979) Regulations, which is a punishable offence.
On April 10, a Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 777-300 ER were damaged and sent to the engineering and maintenance unit.
Following the incident, the civil aviation ministry and Biman formed separate committees to investigate the issue.
This was 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 through 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.
According to Biman insiders, the accidents are caused largely due to carelessness and have the potential to undermine public confidence in the airline.
