The High Court on Tuesday directed the government to form a high-powered technical committee within seven days to investigate the Monday crash of the Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft into a building of a school and college in the capital鈥檚 Uttara area and identify the defects of the training aircraft.
The court also ordered a ban on the flight of faulty training planes over all populated areas 鈥� including Dhaka 鈥� after completing the investigation within 45 days.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur issued the directives and asked the government to submit monthly compliance reports in this regard.
The court asked the secretaries of the ministries of Defence and of Disaster Management and Relief, the Health Service Division, Air Chief Marshal, the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence鈥檚 senior secretary and its director general, and the Department of Disaster Management and Relief鈥檚 director general to submit the compliance reports and respond to the rule.聽聽
The court issued the directives in response to a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Anisur Rahaman Raihan on Tuesday, the day after the crash of the BAF aircraft into a building of Milestone School and College at Uttara New Model Town on Monday left at least 31 people 鈥� mostly primary school students 鈥� killed and 165 others injured.
The committee shall find out the reasons behind the Monday鈥檚 aircraft crash, identify the defects in the aircraft, and to make necessary recommendations to ban flights of faulty training aircraft on the populated areas in Dhaka and other parts of the country, deputy attorney general Tanim Khan told 抖阴精品.
Tanim told 抖阴精品 that relocating training aircraft flights from populated areas would require moving the Bangladesh Air Force base from Kurmitola.
The base 鈥� known as BAF Base Bir Uttam AK Khandker 鈥� is located in Dhaka鈥檚 Kurmitola area, near the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The court also asked the government to explain in four weeks why it should not pay Tk 5 crore to each of the families of the deceased and Tk one crore to each of the injured.
It further ordered the education ministry secretary to arrange for issuing student ID cards with names, guardian contact numbers, and blood groups of all schools and colleges and submit the compliance report to the court.
The court further directed the authorities to explain why it would not be made it mandatory to have firefighting equipment in every school across the country.
According to the writ petition, since 1992 the Bangladesh Air Force has recorded at least 27 crashes involving fighter jets and training aircraft, raising concerns over flight safety, aging aircraft, and increasing urban encroachment near military bases.
The deadliest of the incidents took place on Monday when an F-7 BGI fighter jet crashed into the Milestone School and College campus at Uttara, killing at least 31 people and injuring 165 while two individuals remained missing.
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Towkir Islam Sagar, was on his first solo fighter flight and died after being taken to the Combined Military Hospital at Dhaka Cantonment.
The Inter Services Public Relations directorate said in a statement on Monday that the fighter jet suffered mechanical failure after taking off from Base AK Khandaker.
Despite the pilot鈥檚 efforts to steer the plane away from the populated area, it crashed into a school building.
A high-level Air Force committee has been formed to investigate the crash.
The writ petitioner, referring to a media report, said that between 1993 and 2006, 16 crashes involving BAF aircraft and helicopters claimed the lives of 14 pilots.
Many of the crashes involved Chinese-made FT-7, PT-6, and F-7MB model aircraft.
Crashes involving BAF aircraft occur almost every year, with Chinese-made aircraft accounting for the majority. Between 2005 and 2024, at least 11 Air Force aircraft crashes were reported 鈥� seven involving Chinese models, three Russian, and one Czechoslovakian.
Notable incidents included that on May 9, 2024 when a Russian Yak-130 aircraft crashed during training in Patenga, Chattogram, killing Squadron Leader Asim Jawad.
On November 23, 2018, a Chinese F-7BG crashed in Madhupur, Tangail, killing Wing Commander Arif Ahmed Dipu.
On July 1, 2018, a K-8W trainer crashed in Jashore in which two squadron leaders died.
On December 27, 2017, two Yak-130 jets collided mid-air over Maheshkhali, but all four pilots ejected safely.
On June 29, 2015, a Chinese F-7MB crashed into the Bay of Bengal, with the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Tahmid, going missing.
On April 8, 2012, a Czechoslovakian L-39 trainer crashed in Tangail, killing the pilot.
On December 20, 2010, two PT-6 trainers crashed near Barisal, killing two squadron leaders.
Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin, Kayser Kamal, and Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal placed arguments on behalf of the writ petitioner.
Deputy attorneys general Mohammed Shafiqur Rahman and Tanim Khan along with assistant attorney general Eakramul Kabir Romel, who appeared for the state, did not oppose to the rule.
