Pilot tried to avoid disaster by steering crashing jet away from populated area: ISPR
"It was his first solo flight," one of the pilot’s colleagues told The Business Standard.
The pilot involved in today's Air Force training aircraft crash in the capital's Uttara attempted to steer the plane away from densely populated areas in an effort to avoid a major disaster, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir Islam of the Bangladesh Air Force, was rescued from the crash site in a critical condition and later died while undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), according to ISPR.
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) training aircraft (F-7 BGI), which took off at 1:06pm today (21 July), crashed into a building inside the Milestone College campus and caught fire following an explosion.
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At least 19 people, including the pilot, lost their lives and 164 others were injured in the incident, according to ISPR.
"To prevent a major disaster and minimise damage, the pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir Islam, made every possible effort to steer the plane away from densely populated areas toward a sparsely populated zone. Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed into a two-storey building of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Diabari area in an unexpected accident," ISPR said in a statement.
"The aircraft had departed from the Bangladesh Air Force Base AK Khandaker in Dhaka at 1:06pm as part of a routine training exercise. Shortly after take-off, the jet encountered a mechanical failure, the exact nature of which will be determined through a formal investigation," adds the statement.
"It was his first solo flight," one of the pilot's colleagues told The Business Standard.
According to the colleague, the pilot had successfully flown over areas including Rampura, Hatirjheel, and Mohakhali.
However, around 1:16pm or 1:17pm, the aircraft began to dive sharply and eventually crashed into a college building, he added.
Sabbir Ahmed, a cleaner at a nearby Dhaka metrorail station who witnessed the incident, said, "I saw two aircraft flying. One flew away, but the other looked like it was in trouble.
"It tried to turn to line up with the [Dhaka airport] runway, but while turning at a low altitude, it hit a 10/12 storey building on the Milestone College campus and then crashed into the two-storey primary school building."
After the crash, the parents and sister of Flight Lieutenant Md Towkir were brought to the capital on a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft.
Around 5:00pm, his parents and sister were taken from their rented house in Rajshahi city's Upashahar area to Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi in a vehicle provided by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). From there, they were flown to Dhaka on a special Air Force aircraft. Onboard the aircraft were the deceased pilot's parents, sister, and maternal uncle.
Since the news of the plane crash broke, friends and relatives have been gathering at their residence in Upashahar area.
Relatives said the deceased pilot's father is Tohurul Islam and his mother is Saleha Khatun. Towkir Islam was their eldest child. His younger sister, Srishti, is currently studying at Islami Bank Medical College in Rajshahi.
Towkir studied up to class seven at Rajshahi Government Laboratory School. He later graduated from Rajshahi Cadet College before joining the Air Force.
He got married last year. The formal wedding reception took place in February this year. His wife is a teacher at BRAC University in Dhaka.
