Biman captain gets only 'letter of caution'

A captain of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines has got only a 'letter of caution' though he committed an offence of death penalty or life imprisonment with a Tk 50-million fine.
Ali Rubyat Chowdhury, a captain of Dash-8 Q400 aircraft, committed offence under Sections 27(Ka), 29 and 33 of the Civil Aviation Act 2017.
The Sections 29 and 33 carry the death penalty or life imprisonment with a fine of Tk 50 million.
However, the authorities issued only a 'letter of caution' to Captain Rubyat for his committed offence.
The findings came into two probe reports prepared by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and the Biman Bangladesh Airlines and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
The report prepared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has recently been submitted to the High Court complying with its earlier order.
The report said that the captain was given only a letter of caution for his offence.
According to the another report, Captain Rubyat and another operated at least seven domestic flights on February 1 and 2 in 2022 by hiding the fact that the plane's engines had been damaged due to the captain's improper operations of the plane mid-flight.
During the investigation, the captain failed to prove that unsafe flying of the aircraft and risking public lives did not take place due to his direct failure, according to the report.
By doing such activities, he violated sections 29 and 33 of the Civil Aviation Act.
The pilots deliberately concealed the information about damaging the engines.
After overstressing the engines during a flight, it was mandatory for them to file an air-safety report. This would have ensured the immediate landing of the aircraft, inspections of the engines and if needed, replacement of the engines altogether.
Filing the report is a Biman flight safety protocol. However, the pilots didn't comply with the safety protocol. And their move violated Section 27(Ka) of the Civil Aviation Act.
Section 27(Ka) of the Act carries a rigorous imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or shall be fined Tk 5 million or shall be given both sentences.
The probe report opined that careless and risky operation of aircraft by Captain Rubyat caused a huge financial loss of Biman Bangladesh Airlines which is a loss of public fund. All responsibility of such activities rests on Captain Rubyat.
As per the report, Biman had to pay Tk 165 million to fix the plane which was just a year old. Insurance company didn't bear any cost of repairing the engines since the damage to the engines was solely the pilots' fault.
The report suggested if such activities are not controlled through appropriate measures, the national flag carrier of the country may be involved in major mishaps in the future.
In order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the reports recommend taking appropriate effective measures through departmental proceedings and according to the prevailing laws of the country.
Biman's lawyer Md Ekramul Hoque Tutul didn't make any comment on the issue, terming it 'a sub-judice matter'.

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