Engines of Biman’s Dash-8 ‘damaged’

A relatively new De Havilland Canada Dash-8 aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been grounded since February 2 due to "damaged engines caused by pilot error".

The damage allegedly happened when pilot Ali Rubyat Chowdhury deployed the aircraft's emergency power system -- typically used to avoid an impending accident -- in mid-air on the way to Sylhet from Dhaka on February 1, according to Biman officials well-versed on the matter.

This caused damage to the aircraft's two engines, which will now cost the carrier a huge sum to repair, the officials claimed.

As is practice, the pilot is supposed to report the incident to the authorities concerned and make an entry in the logbook such that the aircraft is not used until the repairs are done.

But Chowdhury, who is also the deputy chief of training at Biman, did not report the matter to the proper authorities, the airline's flight crew members told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.

As a result, the "unfit aircraft" was used on the return flight to Dhaka with 49 passengers on board.

There was a real possibility of the engines exploding during the flight, they claimed.

Even after landing in Dhaka, the matter was not reported to the engineering department. And the plane was being prepared for use the next day. At the last minute, the aviation engineering department revoked the flight permit seeing data in the system logs that the emergency power was used.

Since then, the 74-seater aircraft, one of the three purchased from Canada's De Havilland, has remained grounded.

De Havilland Canada and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney have been asked to assess the damage.

The plane was brought to Dhaka in February last year, said Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, managing director and chief executive officer of Biman.

Biman has formed a probe body to know under what circumstances did the pilot use the emergency power, and whether there was any fault in his handling of the aircraft.

Chowdhury could not be reached for comment.