Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam, has stated that the Milestone School and College building was struck by a crashed training fighter jet due to the pilot’s flight error.
He disclosed this information at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Informing that the investigation report on the Milestone air crash has been submitted to the chief adviser, the press secretary said, “The investigation found that the aircraft crashed after the situation went out of control during the training flight.”
The head of the investigation committee and Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, Lieutenant General SM Kamrul Hasan, handed over the report to Yunus on Wednesday.
On 21 July, a training fighter jet of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed onto the Haider Ali Building of Milestone School and College in the Diabari area of Uttara in the afternoon. In that horrific air crash, 36 people, including teachers and students, were killed.
Shortly after the accident, an investigation committee comprising experts was formed on the instructions of the Principal Advisor. Their investigation revealed that the Milestone School building at the crash site was not approved according to the RAJUK building code. Although the building was supposed to have a minimum of three staircases, it had only one. That single staircase was also located in the middle of the building. Experts believe that if there had been three staircases, the number of casualties could have been much lower.
Informing that the committee members interviewed nearly 150 people, including experts and eyewitnesses, Shafiqul Alam said, “Based on these interviews and evidence, the committee obtained a total of 168 important pieces of information related to the accident and accordingly submitted 33 recommendations.”
According to the main recommendation of the report, to ensure public safety, the Air Force’s primary training will be conducted outside the densely populated capital, Dhaka, in the future.
The recommendations also mentioned expanding the runways in Barishal and Bogura. These directives were also approved in Wednesday’s meeting. Furthermore, instructions have been given to strictly follow the RAJUK building code in the new areas as well.
