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Contents
Early era
Unmanned flight
First manned flight
World War II
Civil aviation
Incidents and accidents
Liberation War
Post-independence
Resumption of civil aviation
Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Naval Aviation
Incidents and accidents
References
General sources
External links
Aviation schools
Early era
Unmanned flight
Kite flying was one of the many different forms of entertainment of the elite people of Dhaka, since
the Mughal period. It became a festive tradition during the period of Nayeb-e-Nazim Nawajesh
Mohammad Khan in the 1740s.[1] Kite flying is still a popular pastime in Bangladesh, especially right
after the monsoon.[2] In the older parts of Dhaka it is one of the most popular activities.[3] Kite
painting was a specialised art form in the 18th century in Bangladesh.[4] Some kites of Bengal has
been known to keep flying for three months. They were big kites tied to anchors with stout ropes.[5]
Kite flying festival had long been a major festival. The Chaitra Sankranti festival (known as Shakrain
or Hakrain in Old Dhaka[6]) is celebrated every year in the last day of the Bengali calendar (30th
Choitro, mid April). It is a major event for competitive kite flying and boat racing.[7] Combating
fighter kite flyers trying to slash each other's carefully sharpened kite-string is a major part of the
competition.[8] In West Bengal the major kite flying festival happens on the day of Makar Sankranti
or end of winter (mid January), and Vasant Panchami (late February).[9][10]
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World War II
Thunderbolts in East Bengal during Burma Campaign
In November 1943, 6 Squadron and later 8 Squadron were moved to Cox's Bazaar.[14][15] By the end of
February 1944, No 6 Squadron pilots had completed over 1,000 operational sorties, averaging 6
sorties a day per pilot, a record for the entire the Third TAF. Towards the end of March 1944, 4
Squadron joined the operations when it was moved first to Feni airfield, and then to Comilla in June
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to replace 6 Squadron.[16] In March 1944, the squadron moved to Feni for operations against the
Japanese. The role of the squadron was to provide close Air support to the XIV Army. it was from Feni
that the squadron carried out its first operational sorties by providing fighter escort to Dakota,
engaged in supply dropping missions in the northern Burma. From August 1944 to January 1945, No.
4 Squadron was based at Cox's Bazar and carried out CAS, interdiction and tactical recce
operations.[16]
In May 1944, 9 Squadron was moved to Comilla after a brief spell of tactical reconnaissance duties
supporting the battles of Imphal and Kohima.[17] During August 1944, the two squadrons carried out
intensive bombing of Japanese positions in the Sangu River valley, specially for three consecutive
days in Labawa to support an offensive by 81 Division to expel the Japanese from the area. By the end
of December 1944, 10 Squadron had also been moved into the operational area at Ramu. With the fall
of Rangoon on 3 May 1945, the operations in Burma were reduced to mopping up of small pockets of
resistance. By the end of June most of the Royal Air forces squadrons were withdrawn, leaving only 8
Squadron to assist in the mopping up.
The Shahjalal International Airport originated in 1941, during the second world war, as the British
government built a landing strip at Kurmitola, several kilometres north of Tejgaon, as an extra
landing strip for the Tejgaon Airport. At that time Tejgaon was a military airport, to operate
warplanes towards the war fields of Kohima (Assam) and Burmese war theatres.[13] Shah Amanat
International Airport was a combat airfield as well as a supply point and photographic reconnaissance
base by the United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force during the Burma Campaign 1944-
1945.[18] Known American units assigned to Chittagong were: 80th Fighter Group, flew P-38
Lightning fighters over Burma between March 1944 and February 1945; 8th Reconnaissance Group,
between October and December 1944 (various detachments); and 4th Combat Cargo Group, flew C-46
Commando transports between January and June 1945. Osmani International Airport in Sylhet was
built during British rule as Sylhet Civil Airport, partly to check Japanese aggression from Burma.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines earns most of its revenue from this airport.[19]
Civil aviation
When the war was over, the colonial government decided to build
the Tejgaon Airport along with a landing strip at Kurmitola to
meet the needs of a Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) station in
Dhaka. In 1946, the Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and his partners
formed an airline – Orient Airways – which soon started using
the airport as a civil airport.[13] Shifting its base from Kolkata to
Karachi when Pakistan was born, Orient Airways started DC-3
flights from Karachi to Dhaka on 7 June 1954, forming a critical
connection between the capitals of geographically separated East A DC-3 from the 1940s
and West Pakistan. On 11 March 1955, Orient Airways merged
with the government's proposed airline, becoming Pakistan
International Airlines Corporation, later rechristened as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The Eastern Pakistan Flying Club was established in 1948. By 1960, British Overseas Airways
Corporation and Pan American Airways had started operating flights out of Dhaka, PIA had started
operating Boeing 707 and Vickers VC10 jet services, and new airports had been established out of
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former Royal Air Force stations at Jessore, Chittagong, Thakurgaon, Ishwardi, and Comilla.[13]
During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, services to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were proving to be
difficult, therefore PIA placed their Sikorsky S-61 helicopters on these routes until 1966 when
conditions improved. In the 1971 war, PIA aided the Pakistan Army by transporting soldiers to East
Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and lost a couple of its aircraft to Indian Air Force
fighters.[20] Between 10 and 13 March, immediately before the war started, Pakistan International
Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dacca.
These "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress.
Liberation War
During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh Indian Air Force
(IAF) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fought had extensive
engagements in the sky over Bangladesh. The first engagement
was on 22 November over the Salient of Boyra in West Bengal.[24]
In the process Tejgaon Airport suffered extensive damage.
attack was conducted by Capt. Akram Ahmed. The second Bangladesh Air Force attack was on 6
December 1971 at Moulovi Bazar Pakistani Army barracks under the command of Squadron Leader
Sultan Mahmud, where Captain Shahabuddin Ahmed was co-pilot.[25]
Then, on the night of 3 December 1971, Canberra bombers of Eastern Air Command struck Tejgaon,
which was guarded by PAF No. 14 squadron equipped with Sabre jets which lacked night fighting
capability. By the morning of 4 December, strike missions against Tejgaon were assigned to 11 IAF
squadrons, including Hunters of the No. 7 Squadron, No. 14 Squadron, No. 17 Squadron and No. 37
Squadron of IAF, as well as Su-7s of No. 221 Squadron and MiG-21s of No. 28 Squadron.
Throughout 4 and 5 December, IAF concentrated in attacking the aircraft on the ground. But, it failed
to cause significant damage to the PAF assets in well-dispersed and camouflaged locations. By the
evening of 5 December, the IAF changed tactics. On the morning of 6 December four MiG-21s (No. 28
Sqn), flying from Gauhati hit Tejgaon with 1000lber, scoring several hits on the runway. Kurmitola
was attacked on the morning of 7 December, when Mig-21s of No. 28 Sqn again hit the runway. No. 7
Sqn was pulled out of the eastern ops on 6 December to help the Indian Army in the west. Repeated
attack by MiG-21s and Hunters of No. 14 and No.28 however, kept the runway cratered. The IAF
assault effectively grounded the PAF by 7 December, and No. 14 Squadron was taken out of the
war.[26] The IAF also bombed other airfields including the abandoned WWII airfields of Comilla,
Lalmanirhat and Shamsher Nagar through the war, denying their use to PAF.
On 20 August 1971 Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman attempted to pilot a T-33 trainer from Karachi,
Pakistan to India to defect from the Pakistan Air Force and join the liberation movement of
Bangladesh. However, Matiur could not take the plane out of Pakistani territory, as reportedly, Pilot
Officer Rashid Minhas, the other pilot in the plane, forced it to crash in Thatta, a place near the Indian
border.[27] Matiur was awarded Bir Sreshtho and Minhas was awarded Nishan-E-Haider, respectively
the highest military honours in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and both has air bases named after them,
respectively in Jessore and Kamra.[28]
Post-independence
Biman Bangladesh Airlines was formed with one Boeing 707 left behind by PIA.
Marshal and Chief of the Air Staff of BAF) was appointed as the
commander of 'Kilo Flight'. After having some basic training on
air to ground weapon delivery, 'Kilo Flight' successfully bombed a
fuel storage in Chittagong and Narayangonj area and thus the
journey of BAF had commenced. During the last phase of the
Bangladesh Liberation War the newly formed Bangladesh Air
Force carried out 12 successful attack missions over Pakistani
targets.[29]
A BAF An-32 Cline
After liberation in 1971, the Bangladesh Air Force received
equipment from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of
China—a clutch of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters; Antonov An-24 and Antonov An-26 transport
aircraft; and Mil Mi-4 helicopters.
Shahjalal International Airport started operation in 1981. It is the home base and hub of Biman
Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines and United Airways.
Fokker F28-4000 (registered S2-ACJ), crashed onto a paddy field 5.6 kilometres from the foot of
the runway of Osmani International Airport in heavy fog. 17 passengers were injured.[39]
27 June 1998: An Air Parabat flight from Ishwardi Airport crash-landed on its belly in a field near
Savar due to some technical problems with the aircraft. Five crew and two passengers on board
escaped unhurt.[40]
27 September 1998: A training flight on a Cessna 150 of Parabat flying academy crashed, killing
two trainee pilots.[40]
22 April 2003: A storm in Dhaka damaged three Airbus A310s, a Boeing 737 and a Fokker F-28
aircraft parked at Zia International Airport. The storm, strongest in three years, had a wind speed
of up to 111-km per hour.[41]
11 July 2003: An Air Memphis cargo flight (operated by a Boeing 707, registered 5X-AMW) bound
for Queen Alia International Airport, Amman from Zia International Airport, Dhaka was forced to
abort takeoff for unknown reasons. The aircraft failed to abort takeoff successfully and overran the
runway of the airport by 450 meters before the nose gear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest
at a marsh. None of the five crew members were killed in the incident.[42]
8 October 2004: Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-601 (from Zia International Airport in Dhaka
to Osmani International Airport, Sylhet) carrying 79 passengers and 4 crew, operated by a Fokker
F28-4000, overran the wet runway of Sylhet and ended up in a ditch. Two passengers were
injured.[43]
8 June 2005: A Bangladeshi fighter trainee pilot of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) crashed his plane
into a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, killing one person and injuring four others.
The Chinese-made F-7 plane on a training mission came down at midday on the Uttara residential
area. The pilot ejected with minor injuries just 100 yards away from the flaming wreckage. The
house onto which the jet had crashed was completely destroyed, while two adjacent houses were
partly damaged.[40]
1 July 2005: Biman flight BG 048 en route from Dubai skidded off runway 23 onto the grass at
Shah Amanat International Airport while landing during heavy rain. The right-hand undercarriage
of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (registered S2-ADN) caught fire and the engine on the right
wing separated from the aircraft, sinking into mud. Of the 201 passengers and 10 crew on board,
10 received injuries but there were no fatalities. Investigations found that the wheel-box of the
aircraft went out of order. The aircraft was later written-off.[44][45]
25 May 2008: Saudia flight 810, a Boeing 747-300 (registered TF-ARS) leased from Air Atlanta
Icelandic caught fire on its no. 3 engine after landing at Zia International Airport in Dhaka from
Medina. There were no fatalities among the 307 passengers and 19 crew on board. An
investigation determined a fuel leak to be the cause of the fire.[46]
10 September 2008: A flight attendant on board Air Arabia flight 522 bound for Shah Amanat
International Airport, Chittagong found a note which said there was a bomb on board the aircraft
(an Airbus A320). After the aircraft landed in Chittagong, the aircraft was searched but no bomb
was found. A passenger on board the flight named Nasir Uddin was found guilty of the hoax,
which caused panic among passengers and had grounded the aircraft at Chittagong for two
hours.[47]
1 March 2012: A fire broke out on the second floor of the terminal building of Shah Amanat
International Airport, Chittagong at around 4 pm. No injuries or casualties were reported. Airport
fire brigade managed to douse the flame by 6 pm. The fire had severely damaged the second
floor of the terminal disabling the two jet bridges forcing airport authorities to bring out the reserve
portable ones. Several flights including 4 international ones had to be delayed, grounding several
aircraft at the airport and diverting a few other. As many as 2000 passengers had to wait for
several hours at the parking lot for their flight.[48]
30 April 2012: A Royal Thai Air Force ATR-72-500 aircraft of 1st Air Division/6th Wing, 603sq,
(serial L16-2/52, code 60314), sustained damage in a landing accident at Shahjalal International
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Airport, Dhaka. The aeroplane suffered a runway excursion while landing. It came to rest against
a concrete barrier, causing substantial damage to the right hand wing. Two passengers reportedly
suffered minor injuries.[49]
13 August 2012: United Airways flight 546, an ATR 72–212 registered S2-AFE, was performing a
domestic flight en route to Dhaka from Jessore, carrying 10 passengers, when the windshield of
the first officer (co-pilot) completely blew out due to high pressure at an altitude of 9000 feet. The
captain safely landed the plane at Shahjalal International Airport. The first officer received an eye
injury.[50][51]
5 April 2013: A fire broke out in the cargo village of Shahjalal International Airport at around
11:30 am.[52] Ten units of Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and doused the fire
one-and-a-half-hour later. Flight schedules were unaffected by the fire.[53]
25 April 2013: A 2-seater Cessna 152 (S2-ABI), a flight training aircraft of Bangladesh Flying
Academy crash landed at Shah Makhdum Airport, while landing in the airport at 4:24 pm. The
aircraft flipped upside-down, the flight instructor and trainee pilot inside escaped with minor
injuries.[54]
28 September 2013: A Boeing 747-400 (leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic), operated by Saudi
Arabian Airlines as SV-3822, en route from Riyadh for a Hajj flight, landed in Dhaka when sparks
and smoke were observed from the right hand main landing gear during roll out, the aircraft
stopped on the runway. The airport was closed for about one hour as result of the emergency.[55]
2 November 2013: Air Arabia flight 522, operated by an Airbus A320-200, made an emergency
landing at Chittagong due to a bird strike, after leaving for Sharjah. All aboard were unhurt.[56]
30 May 2014: Air Arabia flight 524 bound for Sharjah from Chittagong, operated by an Airbus
A320-200, suffered from cabin pressurisation problems 45 minutes after taking off. The aircraft
returned to Chittagong, making a safe emergency landing. The same aircraft made the flight two
hours later, after the problems with the aircraft were fixed.[57]
20 July 2014: United Airways Flight 501, an ATR 72–212 registered S2-AFN, was performing a
domestic flight en route to Cox's Bazar from Dhaka, carrying 43 passengers and 5 crews, when
the nose gear collapsed after safely landing at Cox's Bazar Airport.[58] This caused severe
damage to the front fuselage of the aircraft. The airport was shut down for 22 hours until the
aircraft was safely removed from the runway.[59]
1 April 2015: A Cessna 152 (S2-ADI) aircraft of Bangladesh Flying Academy crashed at Shah
Makhdum Airport and got engulfed by fire after the pilot conducted a rejected takeoff, sensing
technical problems on the aircraft at around 2 pm.[60] The accident left the trainee pilot Tamanna
dead, also leaving the flight instructor with critical burn injuries, who later died.[60]
13 May 2015: A Mi-17 helicopter on a training flight belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force crash
landed Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong and caught fire. All three people on board
sustained major injuries and were hospitalised.[61]
29 June 2015: A F-7MB aircraft on a training flight belonging to the Bangladesh Air Force that
took off from Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong crashed into the Bay of Bengal, six
miles off Patenga Beach. The pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Rumman Tahmid, remains
missing despite a large scale search that only turned up debris of the aircraft.[62][63]
References
1. Khan, Sadat Ullah (2012). "Kite2" (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Kite2). In Islam,
Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.).
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
2. Enamul Haque, An Anthology on crafts of Bangladesh, page 102, National Crafts Council of
Bangladesh, 1987
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3. Jamshed Ahmed et al, Social Formation in Dhaka, 1985–2005, page 308, Ashgate Publishing,
Ltd., 2012, ISBN 9781409492719
4. Harun-or-Rashid, History of Bangladesh, 1704–1971, page 243-250, Asiatic Society of
Bangladesh, 1992, ISBN 984-512-337-6
5. Popular Science, page 14, 12 January 1930, The Modern Publishing Company
6. Shakrain festival. (http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=170574) The
Daily Star. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
7. Jahed Rahman, Bends and Shades, page 37, Xlibris Corporation, 2014, ISBN 9781493175048
8. Elena Martinez, "Kite flying from Silk Road to Roosevelt Avenue (http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/v
oic31-1-2/kites.html)", The Voice: Journal of New York Folklore (Volume 31), Spring-Summer,
2005
9. Vanessa Betts, Kolkata and West Bengal Footprint Focus Guide, page 17, Footprint Travel
Guides, 2013, ISBN 9781909268418
10. Jane Hutchings, India, Page 109, Ingram Pub Services, 1998, ISBN 9780887291333
11. A daredevil balloonist flown in from America (http://www.nawabbari.com/main.html?string=http://fr
eepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vantasselfamilyhistoryhomepage/parkvt/parkvt.html) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20180604141032/http://nawabbari.com/main.html?string=http%3A%
2F%2Ffreepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com%2F~vantasselfamilyhistoryhomepage%2Fparkvt%2F
parkvt.html) 4 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. NawabBari Official Website. Retrieved: 5 July
2007
12. The Van Tassel Family History Homepage (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vantasselfa
milyhistoryhomepage/parkvt/parkvt.html). Retrieved: 5 July 2007
13. Uddin, Syed Mohd Saleh (2012). "Airports" (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Airports). In
Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
(Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
14. No. 6 Squadron (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/006.html) from Bharat-Rakshak
15. No. 8 Squadron (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/008.html) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20071012131739/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/008.html) 12
October 2007 at the Wayback Machine from Bharat-Rakshak
16. No. 4 Squadron (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/004.html) from Bharat-Rakshak
17. No. 9 Squadron (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/009.html) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20071023101554/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Sqn/009.html) 23
October 2007 at the Wayback Machine from Bharat-Rakshak
18. Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office
of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
19. "Sylhet Osmani airport a nightmare for passengers" (http://www.thedailystar.net/2003/07/13/d3071
3070144.htm). The Daily Star. 13 July 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
20. Aircraft Losses In Pakistan −1971 War (PAF, Army Aviation, and Civilian aircraft Casualties) – by
P V S Jagan Mohan (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1971War/Appendix3.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090501082102/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Histo
ry/1971War/Appendix3.html) 1 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
21. Accident description for AP-AJS (https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570701-0)
at the Aviation Safety Network
22. UK CAA Document CAA 429 World Airline Accident Summary
23. Accident description for TF-LLG (https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19701202-0)
at the Aviation Safety Network
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2/11/2020 History of aviation in Bangladesh - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aviation_in_Bangladesh 10/12
2/11/2020 History of aviation in Bangladesh - Wikipedia
General sources
Uddin, Syed Mohd Saleh (2012). "Airports" (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Airports). In
Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
(Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
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2/11/2020 History of aviation in Bangladesh - Wikipedia
External links
Aviation schools
Heritage International College of Aviation Science and Management (http://www.heritageaviationb
d.com/)
United College of Aviation Science and Management (https://web.archive.org/web/201812071747
29/https://www.uca.edu.bd/)
Aeronautical Institute of Bangladesh (https://web.archive.org/web/20110226110517/http://www.aib
-bd.org/)
Arirang Aviation (http://www.arirangaviation.com/)
Galaxy Flying Academy (http://www.galaxyflyingacademy.com/program.html)
BSc in Aeronautical Science, BBA in Aviation Management (http://www.heritageaviationbd.com)
HICASM (http://www.heritageaviationbd.com)
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