Don't compromise on passenger safety

In the aftermath of the worst aircraft disaster in our aviation history that cost 50 lives including 27 Bangladeshis, fingers have been pointed at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) by several former pilots and aviation experts. Recently, at a discussion organised by a private university, views were exchanged frankly on the issue of aviation safety. Several concerns were raised in the dialogue, indeed, and the list of alleged irregularities is disconcerting.

One of the concerns was the matter of pilot fatigue in private airlines that is often overlooked. And when one takes into account that the plane that ill-fated plane had a first officer on her first mission which makes her a rookie on a flight to a difficult destination, we begin to comprehend that perhaps the allegations levelled against CAAB have some merit.Pilot fatigue and inexperience of first officer is not a good combination.

While we may ask why private airlines do not follow accepted safety protocols, the onus to make them comply is on the regulator than the operators. It is the regulator's job to ensure safety standards, but obviously they are not being maintained. Serious questions have been raised about CAAB's failure to check logbooks and pilot records because apparently these processes can be circumvented.

CAAB would do well to take the criticisms in earnest. And it is time also for the ministry to take a hard look at the manner in which the aviation regulator is functioning and initiate changes to enhance the quality of its output so that such tragedies are never repeated.