DC-10 crash in Chittagong

In a posting on an airline enthusiast's website, www.airliners.net , a Biman engineer, Mojibur Rahman, is quoted to have said, "For unknown reasons, the right engine caught fire before landing and melted some tires of main landing gear causing the collapse of four main landing gears at touchdown." The posting, referring to a number of unofficial sources stated that the captain sought landing clearance from the control tower but he was denied clearance on the grounds of poor visibility (weather reports suggest southerly wind of 6 knots, rain and dew reducing visibility at the time, 8:50am, to 2km whereas the entire runway is just over 3km long). The captain ignored the tower instructions and decided to land anyway. Some Bangladesh media reports have alleged that the captain was not only inexperienced and unqualified to fly such an aircraft but also that he had been binge drinking while off duty.

I have some comments. First of all, despite all the odds, a major disaster was averted thanks to the collective efforts of the flight crew and the ground rescue team - hats off to each and every one of them! If indeed the aircraft was on fire, then I totally support the actions of the flight captain ignoring tower instructions - he is the ultimate arbiter of the best course of action; the newspaper photographs of the accident show some evidence of this on number 3 engine. If the blood samples taken from the flight deck crew soon after the incident exonerate them from being under the influence of alcohol, I have nothing further to add. On the other hand, I am sure the airline and the laws of the land as well as international aviation rules will dish out exemplary punishment to them should they fail these tests.

Finally, given that Biman is operating a fleet with many of its aircrafts on their last stretch it is little wonder that we do not see more of these near disasters.