BAF jet-fighter crash
Saturday, 4 July 2015
This news and accompanying photographs were published in most newspapers on 30th June, the last day of the financial year. All of us are aware that the aircraft is expensive and their types hard to afford for poor countries like ours. This writer believes that all tax-payers will agree that this ultimately comes from our hard earned money, so it will not be illogical on our part to know the reason or reasons behind this fatal accident. In my opinion, whenever there is an accident involving any naval vessel or air force plane and other expensive military assets, reports of inquiries should be published briefly showing the main causes leading to it, and recommendations thereof to avoid such tragedies in future.
There are many civilians, who are quite conversant with aircraft and naval vessels, plants and equipment and their components. As a matter of fact, about a few decades back, when this writer was working next to the Naval base in Chittagong, he was directly responsible for rectifying and modifying the lub-oil piping system of a naval vessel (possibly the first ex-Royal Navy destroyer) then purchased by the Bangladesh Navy. This writer also had the opportunity to participate in a RAF Turbo-prop (The Rolls Royce Dart) engine overhaul course at Karachi for PIA, when he was there with the then "Burmah-Shell" oil company in Pakistan days.
There is no secrecy involved in these matters, as this is all related to fairly basic technology and application of common sense to solve these issues that usually baffled the service personnel who are taught to go by the book. The trend was that the component was to be changed, even if it was repairable and has to be imported with foreign exchange. I am saying so in the light of my decade-long working experience in Chittagong in late 1970s.
After independence, this writer also had the opportunity to build spares for their heavy artillery canons' firing pins at the then new Bangladesh Army base in Chittagong. It was made inoperative, maybe deliberately damaged by the Pakistan army personnel before surrender in 1971. As they could not be readily imported, this writer made/repaired a number of such firing pins that were used by our armed forces. I hope the situation (technology-wise) has improved a lot in relation to repairs and maintenance of their heavy equipment in respect of electro-mechanical components and spares.
Engr. S.A.Mansoor
Dhaka