A recent probe into the landing gear malfunction on Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight BG-436 has found no fault with the airline’s engineering crew.
Instead, the issue was traced to material failure, according to officials at a seminar held Thursday at Biman’s headquarters in Kurmitola.
The announcement came following an inspection by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, which sent a technical team to examine the Dash-8 aircraft involved in the incident.
The flight, which took off from Cox’s Bazar on May 16 bound for Dhaka, lost its left landing gear shortly after departure. The detached wheel was later recovered from the Samitipara area of the city.
Biman launched two internal investigations and also asked De Havilland to send a team. That team collected damaged parts, including the wheel and its bearings, for further lab testing.
“We haven’t found any signs of staff negligence,” said the airline’s chief engineer during the event. “The manufacturer’s team couldn’t point to any human error either. They believe it was a material break.”
According to the engineering division, the full cause will be confirmed after final lab analysis. But current findings suggest that the issue stemmed from the parts themselves, not from any failure in aircraft maintenance or handling.
“Why it happened and how exactly — those answers depend on what the next report shows,” said a senior engineering official. “They’ve taken every bit of evidence for testing.”
Gear failure didn’t stop the pilot—the aircraft made a safe landing on its very first approach at Shahjalal International Airport.
No injuries were reported, and a larger disaster was narrowly avoided.
