A recent flight of Bangladesh Biman, Bangladesh’s national airline, was denied entry to U.S. soil by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As a result, the New York-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Canada’s Montreal airport. More than 250 passengers were aboard the flight.
Bangladesh Biman’s North America manager, Abdullah, told Bangla Patrika that the aviation authority did not allow Biman to enter the United States for security reasons, but did not give any clarification about this.
Robin Johnson, a Washington D.C-based attorney who represents Biman, was asked to issue a show of cause notice, seeking clarification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Bangladesh mission in Washington D.C will also discuss the issue with the concerned parties.
A source close to the Biman said that the D.C. 10 ACR aircraft was the cause of the problem. The Federal Aviation Administration had already raised questions about the safety of this aircraft.
Biman was supposed to inform the Federal Aviation Administration about repairs that needed to do on the aircraft. But, sources added, Biman’s safety department failed to inform Federal Aviation Administration about it.
Barely half an hour prior to the Biman’s landing, Boston’s control tower denied the aircraft an entry to the United States. Then the Federal Aviation Administration instructed the Canadian authority to redirect the flight so that it would not enter U.S. territory. At that time, Biman was flying over Canada’s Halifax area.
The rerouting disappointed Biman’s pilots and crew. Passengers were told that the flight had to change direction due to emergency reasons. One passenger said that after the announcement, fear and uncertainty gripped the aircraft. Biman’s pilot urgently contacted the North America office, and he was instructed to make an emergency landing at Montreal airport.
But a Biman source said that the ordeal did not end there. Federal Aviation Administration officials further instructed the Canadian authority to detain the aircraft until the safety of the aircraft had been confirmed. The passengers were asked to proceed to a hotel. After two-and-a-half hours, the Canadian authority issued a clearance certificate for the Biman aircraft, which then left Montreal for Brussels.
However, the flight to Brussels incurred losses of about $200,000 because the aircraft left Montreal without any passengers.
Bangladesh High Commissioner Rafique Ahmed Khan sent First Secretary Mamunur Rahman Khalili to probe the incident. It was found out that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had raised objections about Biman’s D.C 10 model much earlier than this incident.
Last September, a Biman ACR flight was detained in New York when allegedly violations were detected. Two days later, the repairs were done and the Biman aircraft was released.
But since then, the United States banned Biman ACR flights, so Biman has run the route using the D.C 10 ACA aircrafts.
Veteran journalist Syed Mohammedullah condemned the forced detour and said that the matter was sabotage. He said that conspirators were behind the incident and wanted to close the Biman to New York route all together. He called for an investigation.
Meanwhile, Abdullah said that the Federal Aviation Administration has not yet raised any objections about the flight. He said that a clear picture would be available soon.
The Bangladseh High Commissioner in Canada Ambassador Rafique Ahmed Khan told Bangla Patrika that arrangements were made to send all the passengers to New York by bus.
Several passengers who arrived at Laguardia Airport by AirCanada from Montreal described their ordeal.
“We were taken to a hotel in the dead of night, and then had to return from the hotel the following morning and spend the whole day at the airport,” Meher Afroza, a Minnesota resident, said.
