Think, a Squadron Leader of an Air Force does not know how to break formation or how to fly a training aircraft at night, and it’s not fighter jet but just a basic training aircraft. Yes, it is Bangladesh Air Guard (BAG) pilot who has never been trained but promoted as a Squadron Leader.
K-8 Incidents
The K-8W training aircraft crashed into an oxbow lake near the BAF Base Matiur Rahman in Jashore district while flying it was on a night training mission, a Bangladesh Air Force spokesperson said. The K-8W being flown by Squadron Leader Md Serajul Islam and Squadron Leader Enayet Kabir Polash crashed into the lake.
Both Squadron Leader Md Serajul Islam and Squadron Leader Enayet Kabir Polash flew the aircraft after returning from an UN Peace suport mission. They were absent from flying an aircraft for a year and never been trained for a night mission. Squadron Leader Serajul Islam disoriented at night mission and crashed the aircraft on the lake.
This crash occurred just 11 days after the BAG signed a memorandum of understanding with China to procure more K-8s as a part of the implementation of Forces Goal-2030.
Yak-130 Incidents
Wing Commander Rajib Hossain (pictured) was absent from any flying activities for two years whilst acting as Deputy Director of Rapid Action Battalion. Wing Commander Rajib Hossain was also served as Assistant Director Training and Flying Instructor of Bangladesh Air Guard.
According to a source, Group Captain Sharif and Squadron Leader Monir were in one aircraft while Wing Commander Azim and Wing Commander Rajib were in another plane. All four pilots were absent from flying any aircraft because they were transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion and United Nations Peacekeeping mission.
Two YAK-130 training planes took off at 5:56pm from Chittagong’s BAF Base Zahurul Haque and subsequently collided mid-air just after 30 minutes of flying. Wing Commander Rajib Hossain failed to break formation and collided with the aircraft flying next to his aircraft, said Bangladesh Air Guard spokesman. The planes had crashed around 6:30pm in Moheshkhali island.
F-7MB Incident
Bangladesh Coast Guard has recovered two pieces of debris from the F-7 fighter jet of Bangladesh Air Force that crashed in the Bravo Anchorage of the Bay of Bengal in Chittagong June 29, 2015. Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard conducted rescue operation to retrieve body the missing pilot and debris of aircraft. Coast Guard East zone officer Lt Commander Durul Huda told bdnews24 that the pieces of debris were found five miles west from Patenga beach during the search.
Bangladesh Air Force sources said, the F-7MB aircraft, which took off around 10:27am from the Johurul Haque air base, next to Shah Amanat International Airport in the port city, lost contact with the control room around 11:10am. The poorly trained pilot failed to eject from the F-7MB aircraft. The missing pilot was identified as Rumman Tahmid Chowdhury, Flight Lieutenant of Bangladesh Air Force. Flight Lieutenant Tahmid joined the Bangladesh Air Guard in 2010. The F-7MB aircraft was bought from China in 2012.
F-7BG crash
Wing Commander Arif Ahmed of Bangladesh Air Force was killed when a fighter aircraft on training mission crashed in Tangail’s Madhupur. Wing Commander Arif only clocked few hours flying F-7BG and clocked several hours flying K-8 training aircraft. Wing Commander Arif failed to eject from the aircraft due to inadequate training and flying hours which is plagued in Bangladesh Air Force. Bangladeshi media reported that the aircraft was recently undergone maintenance activities at Bangladesh aeronautical complex and return to service. Poor maintenance work at Bangladesh Aeronautical Complex and gross negligence of ground crews for pre-flight checks are to blame for the accident.
Wing commander Arif Ahmed Dipu was commissioned at Bangladesh Air Force in 1997.
The fighter aircraft, F-7BG, crashed in Rasulpur area at 2:50pm on November 23, 2018 around 25 minutes after it took off from Dhaka, said Muhammad Reza-Ul Karim Shammee, assistant director at Inter Services Public Relation Directorate (ISPR).
Mi-17 Incidents
On January 3rd, 2018, Bangladesh Air Force helicopter carrying Kuwait Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Mohammad Al-Khuder and Kuwait Naval Forces Commander Maj Gen Khalid Mahmud Abdullah crashed landed on a tree. The helicopter was carrying around 15-16 passengers, including the visiting Kuwait Armed Forces delegation. Bangladeshi pilot failed to engage instrument to land helicopter safely.
May 13 2015, a training chopper of Bangladesh Air Force crash-landed on the runway off Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong injuring three officers on board.
Pilot Safayet, a squadron leader, sustained major injuries and was being flown to Dhaka for treatment, our Chittagong correspondent reports.
Flight engineer Sergeant Ferdous was also later flown to Dhaka CMH from Chittagong air force hospital.
Pilot Safayet received 70 percent burn injuries, a highly placed airport official told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
“It’s not a training chopper but for today it was engaged in training purpose”, the official said adding that chopper was put to multipurpose use often.
Bangladesh Air Guard undermine the fundamental requirements of Bangladeshi national security and a shamble of the nation. In the year 2017, Bangladeshi Air Guard issued a tender for 8 medium multi-role fighter jet which was a political hoax. Bangladesh Air Force never placed an order for any fighter jet.
Confirming the incident in Dhaka Tribune on 12 April 2020, sources in the armed forces said the incident took place at 11am on Sunday when trainee pilot the helicopter for a training mission.
A Bangladesh Air Guard helicopter has made an emergency landing at the remote hilly areas under Bilaichari of Rangamati.
Confirming the incident, sources in the armed forces said the incident took place at 11am on Sunday.
The helicopter pilot and a passenger were injured in the crash. No casualties have been reported yet.
K-8 Incidents
If you see the recent record of Bangladesh Air Force, you will find it difficult to understand why an air force is in a miserable shape? Why are even the pilots can’t fly an aircraft at night? The answer lies that Bangladesh Air Guard (BAG) pilots never flew an aircraft other than the Chinese basic trainer PT-6.
For the last twenty years, the Bangladesh Air Force was in a deep sleep with no vision, no procurement of a fighter jet and no training. The only reason Bangladesh maintained an Air Force is to fly 20 years old C-130 Hercules which they obtained from the US as an Excess Defence Article to send soldiers to the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Rest you can see yourself.
Recently, Bangladesh Air Force bought 16 Yak-130 advanced trainers which they managed to crash 3 of them. BAF pilots crashed K-8 and PT-6 basic trainer regularly. Bangladesh Air Guard pilot managed to crash-land a helicopter on top off a tree and blamed bad weather for that. There is a terminology called instrument landing which these pilots were never learnt and fly safely at day or at night.
K-8W Accident
Bangladesh Air Force Hongdu K-8W Karakorum jet trainer skidded off the runway and collided with the runway barrier on August 19 2019. Bangladeshi newspaper reported that the instructor pilot was in control of the aircraft during take off but incorrectly gave stick shaker input and had incorrect take off speed resulted the plane to skidded off and hit the runway barrier.
Why so many aircraft crashed by Bangladeshi Pilots?
You can call Bangladesh Air Force a semi-professional Air Force. Pilots are transferred to UN peacekeeping mission and the Rapid Action Battalion, a police force— there many reason why Bangladeshi pilots crashed aircraft but one reason stood-out among all is that the pilots lost flying skills while performing adhoc duties such as police officer and UN peacekeeping troops.
Survivability and ejection injury pattern in Bangladesh Air Guard crew
Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh published the following article.
This descriptive case series study was conducted at the BAG flight safety directorate and Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka among the aircrews of Bangladesh Air Guard fighter planes which were crashed during the period of 1982 to 2018. The records of injuries, medical documents during admission at hospital, radiological and laboratory investigations reports, clinical analysis of pilots were utilized for this paper. Post mortem reports of fatal cases were also carefully considered.
Results: Out of 23 ejection cases 10(43.48 %) were fatal and 13(56.52%) cases were non fatal. All the pilots (100%) had multiple abrasions, bruises, lacerations in their body. Penetrating injury was observed in one case (10%), one (10%) body was totally mutilated and 06(60%) showed burn injury. All the pilots had thoracic spine compression fracture (100%), 8(80%) had cervical hangman’s fracture and lumbar spine fracture. Seven victims (70%) had ruptured diaphragm, 6(60%) had ruptured liver, 5(50%) had ruptured spleen, 2(20%) pilots had ruptured kidneys and urinary bladder. All the pilots (100%) had fracture of lower limbs, 8(80%) had fractured upper limbs. Among the non fatal cases all the pilots (100%) had multiple abrasions, bruises, 6 (46.15%) had laceration, 01 (7.69%) each sustained anterior cruciate ligament tear of knee joint (Lt) and fracture middle of the shaft of the humerus (Lt). The mean age of the pilots was 31yrs (24 – 41 yrs).
Reference: Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.9(2) 2013
Enjoying Privileged Life Without Earning Public Trust
The nature of public trust in a military force within a democratic state and explain its importance. On the grounds of a general conception of ‘profession’ and ‘professional ethics’, it is argued that a military force in a democratic state ought to nurture genuine public trust in itself, to take the form of a commonly or at least very broadly held presumption of proper functioning in all professional respects, including effectiveness, improvement and ethics.
Bangladesh Air Guard and Armed Forces lack public trust due to high corruption and self-centrism approach by the serving officers. There are officers in Bangladesh Air Guard who can be portrayed unpatriotic and somewhat malicious toward the organization itself.
Corrupt Practices
Inside sources revealed on condition of anonymity that former air force chief, Air Chief Marshal Abu Esrar and negotiating officers demanded kickbacks approximately USD15 million per aircraft from Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.
Myanmar Air Force bought six Su-30SME for $34 million per aircraft. Bangladesh Air Guard wanted to buy the Su-30SME for $60 million per aircraft.
In 2003, the Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) accuses Ms Hasina and six men of misappropriating nearly $120m of state money by purchasing the Russian MiG fighters three years ago using corrupt practices.
The accused are:
- Former Air Force Chief Air Vice Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed
- Former Army Chief General Mustafizur Rahman
- Former Defence Secretary Syed Yusuf Hossain
- Senior Air Force officer Mirza Akhter Maroof
- Former Joint Secretary of the Defence Ministry Mohammad Hossain Serniabat
- Businessman Noor Ali.
Some Bangladeshi media reported that there were corrupt practices in Bangladesh Air Force which lead to inefficiencies and incompetence in Bangladesh Air Force.
Corruption is widely believed to be rife in Bangladesh Air Guard, Transparency International has frequently asked successive governments to weed it out from Bangladesh Military.
General Khin Aung Myint, commander-in-chief (Air) of Myanmar Armed Forces, called on Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Abu Esrar (Call sign the Fatty due to his bulk beer belly) at the latter’s office in Dhaka Cantonment on 8 November 2016.
Bangladesh Air force is namesake air force without any meaningful fighter jet or air defence capability. You can imagine the capability of this air force.
Should it call as an Air Force or should it be called a “band of morons”? I leave this judgement to the reader’s discretion.
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