Bangladesh bought the FT-7 BGI aircraft that crashed in Uttara, Dhaka, on Monday, claiming the lives of at least 20 people, including the pilot Flight Lieutenant Towkir Islam, and injuring 171 others, from China in 2013.
The FT-7 BGI jet is a variant of Chinese-manufactured J-7 jets. Bangladesh bought several of the jets in 2013, said a senior Bangladesh Air Force official.
Fighter jets of J-7 series were license-built versions of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. It was manufactured from 1965 to 2013.
According to the official, Pakistan, Namibia, Myanmar, Nigeria and Sri Lanka operate similar variants of J-7 jets.
Bangladesh operates different variants on J-7 jets, including F-7 BGI, FT-7 BGI and F-7 BG, among others.
This was the first time that an FT-7 BGI aircraft of the BAF crashed.
In the past, an F-7 BG aircraft of the BAF crashed in Tangail鈥檚 Madhupur Upazila during a training mission. The pilot, BAF Wing Commander Arif Ahmed Dipu, was killed in the crash on November 23, 2018.
