A training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed near Barisal airport, killing both the pilots, on Monday afternoon, said an ISPR press release.
The concerned authorities immediately formed an investigation committee to ascertain the cause of the crash of the PT-6 training plane that killed Squadron Leader Ashraf Ibne Ahmed and Squadron Leader Mohammad Mahbubul Haque.
The BAF’s chief, Air Marshal SM Ziaur Rahman, flew from Dhaka to Barisal in a helicopter to visit the spot of the accident and give the necessary instructions, the press release added.
Witnesses said the two-seater plane circled twice over the airport, apparently to land, before it plunged and crashed on a rain tree in Manikkathi village outside the Barisal Airport at about 2:20pm.
Local fire brigade sources said there was no trace of fire in the debris. The body of one of the pilots was found stuck with the seat on the high branches of the tree while the other body was found scattered in pieces.
The remains of the two pilots were sent to Dhaka by helicopters later in the afternoon.
Sources said that four training planes took off from Jessore Airport and two of them flew towards Barisal, and the ill-fated aircraft was one of them. The other plane returned to Jessore safely, sources added.
At least 13 planes and two helicopters of the Bangladesh Air Force and the Army Aviation Corps crashed in 17 years, and 17 pilots, co-pilots, navigators and passengers died and 10 people were injured.
A major general, a lieutenant colonel, two wing commanders, six squadron leaders, three flight lieutenants, two flying officers, a warrant officer and a flight sergeant were among the victims, according to press reports.
Most of the planes that crashed were FT-7, PT-6, and F-7MB models and were manufactured in China. The helicopters that crashed were an MI-17, manufactured in Russia, and a Bell-206, built in the United States.
With Monday’s accident, at least five Chinese-made basic training craft — PT-6 models — have crashed since 1996.
