Pilot hailed for saving 171 lives as US-Bangla plane makes emergency landing

BDnews24
The pilot of the US-Bangla Airlines plane that made a forced landing in Chattogram after its nose gear failed while flying to Cox’s Bazar has earned plaudits for saving the lives of 171 on board.
The Boeing 737 aircraft was carrying 164 passengers and seven crewmembers from Dhaka on Wednesday.
Its pilot Captain Mohammad Zakaria, a retired Bangladesh Air Force squadron leader, managed to land the plane on its rear wheels and without any major occurrence. As many as 40 passengers were slightly injured and 70 suffered trauma, but all of them recovered later, Chattogram Civil Surgeon Azizur Rahman Siddiqui said.
Captain Zakaria circled the plane in mid-air for some time in Cox’s Bazar and decided not to land as the nose wheel of the plane was stuck and the airport was not prepared for emergency landing.
The airplane later flew to the Chattogram airport where the authorities arranged for an emergency landing.
When an aircraft is unable to touch down with its landing gear fully extended, it usually performs a gear-up or “belly” landing.
Sarwar-e-Jahan, Manager of the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram, said the nose wheel of the plane opens before landing using a hydraulic system. It can also be opened manually.
“The pilot went for the emergency landing as no effort to open the nose gear worked… It is highly risky to land without any nose wheel. It could be a major accident,” he said.
“It was a technical fault. The pilot was very skilled. There was no major occurrence as he managed to land the plane after slowing it down,” Sarwar added.
Netizens have posted angry comments on the social media doubting US-Bangla’s capacity to operate flights.
The plane received compliance clearance before the flight following the rules, the airlines’ spokesman Kamrul Islam said.
“Such technical problem like failure of the nose gear can occur at any time,” he said.
He also credited Captain Zakaria for the safe emergency landing.
“No major problem occurred thanks to the pilot’s skills, courage and wit. He considered every aspect before the landing,” Kamrul said.