Tragic end of a dream

On Tuesday, trainee pilot Tamanna Rahman Rhidi did her first solo flight with just 15 hours of flying experience. Very few get to do their first solo flights this quick.

She along with two other trainee pilots scheduled a party to celebrate their first solo flights, but before the party was to start last night Tamanna was killed. Her training aircraft crashed in Rajshahi airport runway. The body of the 22-year-old was completely charred.

Her trainer Lt Col (retd) Sayeed Kamal, the chief instructor of Bangladesh Flying Academy for last 10 years, was admitted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rajshahi with 70 percent burns. He was later flown to Dhaka.

Tamanna's father Anisur Rahman, deputy director (medical education) at the Directorate General of Health Services, said they wanted her to become a barrister, but she was determined to be a pilot.

After completing A-levels, Tamanna got in Bangladesh Flying Academy over a year ago.

“Whenever we talked about her higher education, Tamanna said she would become a pilot. She was on her track, but what happened now!” said Comilla Forest Officer Mahbubur Rahman, uncle of Tamanna.

Captain Shahab Uddin Ahmed, immediate past president of Bangladesh Flying Academy, said, “It's a huge achievement for a student to attend the feat [to get the permission to fly solo] in just 15 hours of flying. It takes between 20 and 30 hours for most students.”

It requires a trainee to have 150 hours of flying experience and then go through different tests and exams to get a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.

Tamanna's father claimed that the flying academy should be punished as it provided an unfit aircraft for training. Last week, there was a tyre puncture during a take-off, he told The Daily Star over the phone.

The engine of the Cessna-152 of Bangladesh Flying Academy and General Aviation Ltd caught fire and the plane crashed on the runway at Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi at 1:58pm, three minutes after it took off, airport sources said.

“Sensing a technical fault, the pilot tried to land and it's then that the plane caught fire,” said Setafur Rahman, manager of Shah Makhdum Airport.

Capt Shahab said it appeared the plan crashed due to an engine fire. Details of the incident would be unfolded through thorough investigation.

A four-member committee formed by the CAAB, led by Group Capt Nazmul Anam, director of flight safety of civil aviation, has started its investigation.

Capt Anam told The Daily Star that they would also look into whether there was any safety negligence.

The team reached Rajshahi yesterday afternoon and went to the crash site. They talked to locals and officials.

After the crash, Lutfar Rahman, Anwarul Islam, his brother-in-law Robiul Islam and Dablu from neighbouring Chalakipara village, rushed to the scene scaling the boundary walls of the airport. They managed to rescue Kamal through the window.

Two of them were interviewed by The Daily Star and they said they could not save Tamanna as she was tightly fastened to seat and the fire engulfed her quickly.

The crash occurred while the aircraft was trying to make a turn near the end of the runway, they said.

The plane suddenly dropped to the runway and the right wing hit the ground. It skidded to a nearby field and the engine was on fire, they added.

Lutfar Rahman, an auto-rickshaw driver who lives in Chalakipara, said, “I would never forget her death, it was so disturbing. I feel sorry that we could not save her due to the fire. She was burning inside the cockpit and crying out for help. She was fastened to the seat … The man managed to break the window.

“We dragged him out and told him to roll over the ground to douse the fire,” he said.

“We had no sand, water or anything to douse the fire. If there was no boundary wall, we could have gotten some water to put the fire out,” added Anwarul.

The firefighters of the airport reached the scene some 25 minutes later and the woman was burned by then. The authorities rescued a charred body from the burnt plane, he added.

“We came to know about the accident hearing the crash siren, and then our fire vehicles, medical units rushed to the scene at 2:25pm,” said Setaful Islam, manager of the airport. The airport is closed until further notice.

Tamnanna's body was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for an autopsy, said Civil Surgeon Abdus Sobhan. The body was flown to Dhaka in the evening on a helicopter and handed over to the family.

Asked whether the accident occurred due to airworthiness issues especially since the production of the aircraft ceased three decades ago, Bangladesh Flying Academy President Capt Mafidul Islam Khan said they maintain their aircraft regularly and it is monitored by the CAAB. The plane is flown with CAAB's certification.

A top CAAB official wishing anonymity also made similar observations.

The flying academy took the aircraft on lease from another flying academy, the official added.

On September 27, 1998, a training plane of Parabat Airlines crashed at Postogola in Dhaka due to a technical fault, killing its pilot Faria Lara and co-pilot Rafiqul.

In October, 2010, pilot Kamrul Hasan was killed after his Cessna-152 of BFA crashed into the Jamuna river in Sirajganj. Co-pilot Shamsuddin was rescued.