Captain Salahuddin M Rahmatullah, a Bangladeshi investigator who is working with Nepali Official Investigation for the US-Bangla Flight BS211Crash in Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) termed the investigation findings ‘baseless’ after a report leaked in various Nepali media. Capt. Salahuddin is also the head of Aircraft Accident Investigation Group (AAIG) of Bangladesh.
The leaked report claims that the pilot of the US-Bangla plane that crashed in March, killing 51 people, appears to have lied to the control tower during the landing procedure and was smoking continuously inside the cockpit during the one-hour flight from to Kathmandu.
The Accident Investigation Commission formed by the Nepal government to examine the US-Bangla Airlines plane crash has shown serious concern and dissatisfaction over the Kathmandu Post report on its findings.
A press release was sent to Capt. Salahuddin mentioning that the probe to find the probable cause and contributing factors of the accident was still in progress and the commission said it believed the accident investigation was not a matter for media propaganda.
He was concerning that such probe report should not have been leaked to the media despite 4 to 5 months still remaining for the final report to be disclosed by Nepal’s Investigation Committee.
He added he is closely involved with the Bangladesh official investigation process and does not have any such information that can confirm the claim of Nepal probe report.
US-Bangla Airlines has also rejected a Nepal newspaper report over the investigation findings carried out by the Nepali team saying the report was ‘fictitious’ and ‘irreverent’.
Likewise, the commission stated a serious objection to such kind of unethical and fraudulent news which might create wrong conception and beliefs in the public and concerned people.
The commission informed that the report was not finished and published officially. “Once the report is completed, it will be made public as per the provision of the government regulation and ICAO standards.” Officials say that there is no possibility of publishing the report before December.
It also urged all parties concerned not to make unnecessary speculation regarding this issue where lives from Nepal and other friendly countries were lost in the crash.
