Biman forms body to probe breakdown of weather radar system
Captain Enamul Haque Talukder, Biman's chief of safety, was made the convener of the two-member committee, Biman said in an office order on Tuesday.
Nironjon Roy, general manager of corporate safety and quality, is the other member of the committee, according to the order signed by Siddiqur Rahman, director of administration and human resources.
The committee was asked to submit its report within three working days.
The Daily Star published a news about the incident on May 9 titled "Biman 787 suffers glitch on the return flight from Tokyo".
According to the order, the decision to form the committee was taken following the aforementioned report.
The aircraft, a Boeing 787 that joined Biman's fleet in 2018, dropped off the PM at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) on the morning of April 25, refueled, and departed for Dhaka an hour and 45 minutes later.
During the return leg, the pilot noticed that neither of the two weather radar systems were working.
Deprived of a functioning weather radar, the pilot had to navigate the plane through the pitch-black darkness of the evening sky before safely touching down at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:17pm.
The pilot-in-command, Captain Ishtiaque Hossain, after landing in Dhaka filed a technical log.
The Daily Star obtained a copy of the log.
The technical log stated, "Both WXR [weather radar] systems return unreliable, both WXR systems test shows 'WXR fail drive [drive]' with 'WXR SYS [system]' advisory message and unusual sound from WXR antenna."
The log also included notes about what rectification measures had to be taken after landing.
"Antenna drive unit replaced," it said.
The thorough security check that all VVIP flights are subject to prior to flying did not pick up the impending motor failure.
The checks, which are conducted by Biman engineers in the presence of every single intelligence agency, and the Special Security Force, can last up to three days.
The radar system detects weather up to 50 nautical miles ahead of the aircraft, based on which pilots can make directional decisions.
HSIA launches digital service app for passengers
Authorities of Dhaka airport today launched a mobile app to help passengers get various services at the airport without hassle.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali inaugurated the app called "HSIA Digital Airport Service" at the domestic terminal building of HSIA.
Using this app, passengers can avail of various services like finding out various locations at the airport without hassle.
Authorities said the application has been developed to provide easy and modern assistance to all outgoing and incoming local and foreign passengers and especially expatriate Bangladeshi remittance fighters using HSIA.
All respective agencies and departments including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Expatriates' Welfare, National Board of Revenue, Health Department, Bangladesh Police, and Aviation Security working at the HSIA will be able to provide information and instructions to the passengers through this mobile app.
The minister also inaugurated another app called "Height Clearance Management System" during the program.
It will be used to send and receive security clearance in the construction of buildings in all the airports across the country.
Construction of buildings or structures anywhere within a radius of 15 km from the airport runway requires height clearance from the Air Traffic Management Department of CAAB.
Besides, a digital pass called "Avsec ID" was also officially launched at the occasion for speedy settlement of airport security pass-related issues.
Airlines, unions in rare unity on US pilot diversity drive
Airlines and unions disagree on many aspects relating to May 8's tight labor market but concur on at least one thing: the need to diversify the pilot workforce pool.
At a recent congressional hearing, Regional Airline Association (RAA) President Faye Malarkey Black rued the "very limited diversity" within airline cockpits, echoing remarks from the Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) Jason Ambrosi who noted a dearth of pilots who are women and people of color, saying "that must change."
The alignment stood out because Ambrosi and Black disagreed about key elements in today's employment market, including whether a pilot shortage exists.
The population of US airline pilots and engineers is currently 95.7 percent white and 9.2 percent female, according to US data.
Tapping into underrepresented populations has emerged as a solution to the industry's workforce stresses from the surge in travel demand following the Covid-19 downturn, issues that have also affected other corners of aviation.
Over the last 18 months, there has been a scramble for seasoned pilots after thousands of pilots accepted early retirement while airlines cut costs during the pandemic.
Whereas major US airlines drew 50 percent of their pilots from the military in the year 2000, that share has dropped to just 15 percent due to the military's shift to unmanned aircraft. Today, three-quarters of major airline recruits come from regional airlines, according to consultancy Oliver Wyman.
Oliver Wyman currently forecasts a North American pilot shortfall of 17,000 in 2032 after an earlier projection pointed to an even bigger gap.
The moderation follows stepped-up industry efforts, such as United's Aviate Academy, which wants at least half its trainees to be women or people of color.
But the smaller forecasted shortage also reflects deep US air travel service cutbacks to rural markets and small cities, said Geoff Murray, a partner at Oliver Wyman.
European airlines do not face similar challenges today because of more generous pandemic employee maintenance programs. But Murray said the continent's pilot labor market is expected to encounter stresses in about three years, in part due to a full restoration of international travel service.
At an April 19, congressional hearing, the RAA's Black said the country was suffering from an "air service collapse" following the exit of major carriers from 73 markets that have led to fewer flights in places like Erie, Pennsylvania, and Pueblo, Colorado.
Saying the shortfall would worsen because of "a coming tsunami of pilot retirements," Black asked Congress to raise the mandatory retirement age to 67 from 65.
She also urged a reconsideration of the current US standard that requires pilots to have 1,500 hours of service before they can fly for a commercial carrier, arguing that modern training techniques prepare pilots for the cockpit with far fewer costly hours.
"Since 2010, fatalities are down 99.8 percent," Ambrosi told the committee. "Responding to temporary post-Covid industry problems with permanent changes to pilot training and qualification requirements is ill-considered and dangerous."
Ambrosi also criticized the analysis by Oliver Wyman that the current labor market dynamics constitute a "shortage," saying the number of new FAA pilot certifications is more than sufficient to cover airline hiring needs, adding that the impact of Covid pilot retirements had been overstated.
"Airline decisions to leave communities are market-driven business choices and should not be conflated with pilot supply," Ambrosi said.
But both Black and Ambrosi agreed that more must be done to address the runaway costs of pilot training that price out underrepresented populations.
The cost to become a pilot can exceed $100,000 following extensive classroom study and years of training, certifications, and trial flights.
A 2022 "Youth in Aviation" report by a federal task force urged more in-person awareness campaigns and after-school aviation activities for middle- and high schools, as well as the establishment of a federal pilot scholarship and more generous federal education grants.
Congress is expected to consider these measures later this year during the debate on the FAA reauthorization bill.
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