Jumbangla Desk: Captain Manwar was once an influential pilot of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. While he was in service, his son Ishtiaq also joined as a pilot. Ishtiaq is now a senior captain in Biman after his father retired. Now again his son. Sadif Hossain has also applied to become a pilot and it is certain that no one can stop Sadif's recruitment. This recruitment is in process. But this time too, like other recruitment exams in the past, controversy has arisen. Details from Janakantha's report-

 

 

In the beginning, some candidates approached the court alleging discrimination. Several senior pilots of Biman complained that no one has the power to stop the appointment of Captain Ishtiaq's son in this appointment. As in the past, he will have a job like the relatives of all the pilots. Thus, nepotism, corruption and irregularities in the appointment of aircraft captains have been established for the past five decades.

 

 

It is known that there are currently 170 pilots in the aircraft. 60 of them are related to each other. Not even blood relatives, but blood relations. For example, the pilot's sons and daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, brothers-in-law, uncles-nephews and aunts and uncles.

 

There is no other airline in the world where pilots have such a close relationship with their relatives! How can so many relatives work in the pilot position of an international standard airline like Biman! Who is responsible for this?

A long investigation by Janakantha has shown that since its inception, Tughlaki Ka- has been going on with the recruitment, promotion and salaries of the pilots of the aircraft. Pilots have developed a manual to allow their relatives to become pilots safely and seamlessly. If the father is an airplane pilot, it is trivial for the son to become a pilot. Uncle is a pilot, so does nephew. If the father-uncle is a pilot, then who prevents the nephew's job? Such examples are not few.

 

 

One such aircraft is Captain Maqsood. His son's passion was to become a pilot. The boy just expressed his desire, that's it. Father is pilot, uncle Captain Mosaddiq Ahmed is MD of Biman. What else does it take! Suddenly one day this boy entered the plane as a cadet pilot. And if the husband is a pilot, then the wife can become a pilot even if she does not have the minimum qualifications. His shining example - First Officer Sadia. Why only Biman, to become a pilot in any of the world's airlines, you have to pass high school in science (with mathematics and physics).

 

 

But Sadia did not care about all this. He entered the humanities branch with a certificate of higher secondary pass as the first officer of Boeing 777. After the incident of 2021 was leaked in the civil aviation investigation, the uproar started in the country and abroad. He was later ejected from the plane. Investigation into the scam revealed that Sadia's husband Captain Sajid was in charge of the important (pilot training) branch of the airline.

 

 

The wife will take the exam, if the husband can answer the question, then what is the use of this life! He does everything from such a spirit. Create questions, supervise exams, what more! Then Sadia repeatedly failed in the route training, then Sajid himself went to the route training in his flight and took the responsibility of the instructor to pass her. As a result, the wife is kicked out and the husband is grounded.

 

 

Some examinees have questioned how they are being given the responsibility of ongoing recruitment despite the precedent of such a scam in the recruitment of pilots. A candidate for the ongoing pilot recruitment said that this time too the pilots will ask questions and look at the accounts. Why is this? At least the Air Force can set an example of honesty with this test!

 

 

Former MD Captain Mosaddiq has set another great precedent for the appointment of pilots. The manner in which he made his nephew a pilot was a signature of gross irregularities, corruption, fraud and immorality. Never in the history of aviation has there been such a big recruitment scandal. The situation got so out of control that the ACC investigated the incident and issued a chargesheet after finding out the facts. He lost his job, and Mosaddek went to jail in that case. The case is pending in court.

 

 

As many as the pilots of the aircraft have been appointed, except for one or two, all have been done in this manner. When asked how fraud and irregularities are committed in the recruitment of pilots, an airline pilot said that the recruitment is done after a few years, when the sons and daughters of the pilots have attained the minimum qualifications. There is no recruitment test until their sons and daughters are minors or get CPL after attaining the minimum educational qualification.

 

 

That's why it has been seen that since the establishment of Biman, in all the pilot recruitment tests that have been conducted, several pilots' sons and daughters or close relatives have got jobs. Captain Manowar's son Ishtiaq, Captain Rafiq's son First Officer Junaid Rafiq, Captain Nashim's son First Officer Ismam, Captain Belal's son First Officer Muneem, Captain Maqsood's son First Officer Muqtadir, Captain Kamal Mahbub's son First Officer Tajin Mahmud, Captain Mofid's son Son of First Officer Masfiq, son of Captain Majed AH Mehdi, son of Captain Shoaib Ali Zahid, son of Captain Shahab Tapas, son of Captain Mofid Mainul, son of Captain Kamal Sahid son Wazeed, son of Captain Maruf Waz, son of Captain Rafi Rashed Rafi, daughter of Captain Doza Safa, Capt. Ashraf's son Abbas, Captain Nazmul Haque's son Sajjad.

 

 

Other relatives are Captain Tekap's brother First Officer Irfan, Captain Muntasir's nephew First Officer Imtiaz Reza, Captain Tania's two cousins ​​First Officer Arman and First Officer Abrar, Captain Noman's brother Captain Faryal, Captain Muntasir's nephew First Officer Tajin Mahmud, Captain Enam Talukdar's nephew First Officer Officer Sara, another nephew First Officer Nadeem, Captain Rafiq's nephew Captain Atiyab. There are also a few couples. They are Captain Sadat's wife Captain Sumaila, Captain Imran's wife Captain Alea, Captain Zahid's wife Captain Faryal, Captain Ishtiaq's wife Captain Sahana.

 

 

Most surprisingly, applications for the ongoing recruitment of Biman were invited on April 29. It also says, cadet pilot. However, the commercial license i.e. rated pilot has been sought here, which has no correspondence with the post advertised.

 

 

It is known that six sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and relatives of the aircraft captains have also applied for the ongoing recruitment. They are Captain Ishtiaq's son Sadif Hussain, Captain Quader's wife Bushra Siddiqa, Captain Belal's son Mohammad Shaikh, Captain Hasnain's daughter Sharmeen Chowdhury, another captain's daughter Tasfia Iqbal.

An airline pilot, who did not wish to be named, said that all the relatives of the pilots who have applied will be guaranteed jobs this time. No one can prevent their appointment.

 

 

Biman's human resources branch sources said that the biggest scandal of the pilots was the appointment of Muqtadir, the younger brother of Captain Maqsood, the younger brother of former MD Captain Mosaddiq Ahmed. In that exam of 2018, pass mark (written) was considered first, in which his nephew did not pass. It was later reduced to the point of his nephew's pass. Then the oral is called, in which he is passed with the highest marks in person.

 

 

With this, the plane was shocked. There was an uproar after the scandal was leaked to the media. Then the ACC investigates and finds out the truth of the scam and issues a charge sheet after the investigation. Captain Mosaddiq Ahmed lost his job. He has to go to jail. The case is now under trial in a court in Dhaka.

 

 

It is known that the relatives of several pilots of the aircraft also participated in the recruitment test. Although the written test was conducted by a government agency outside of Biman, the questions were prepared by some of the Biman pilots. By sending three sets of question papers to an outside agency, they leaked them to their relatives. Everyone got off. There were further complaints that three sets of questions were prepared but they differed by nineteen-twenty. As a result, even if a set was leaked, it still had a good chance of passing.

 

This is how Biman has been recruiting pilots for the past 15 years. It was easier before. The people on the plane used to ask questions, the test was done on the plane itself. By ensuring the appointment of their relatives, the rest were taken in exchange of crores of rupees. Even Captain Kamal Mahbub's son after passing the written test went to the then Aviation Minister's house and got a chance to become a pilot by paying a bribe of Rs. This incident was spoken by everyone on the plane.

 

It is known that this time too some meritorious applicants were not called for recruitment on flimsy excuses. Later they gave lawyer notice but Biman did not respond. Later they approached the High Court. One of them said that pilots are playing a key role in the recruitment of aircraft pilots. While it is the responsibility of the airline's human resource wing, as in the past, it is the pilots themselves who scrutinize the applications, who they want to drop, who they want to enlist. They are the ones who prepare the questions, they are the ones who are responsible for all the exams. Air traffic control department is unable to do anything here.

 

 

advertisement

If asked, the newly appointed managing director of Biman. Safiqur Rahman said, "I cannot and will not say about what has happened or not in the past." But this time the exam will be very strict discipline. As many protections as needed will be taken.

 

In response to the question that you don't think it is unusual for pilots to develop a family system in the aircraft , he said that the appointment of the aircraft is finalized through written test, oral test and health test. During the examination, the examiner or the concerned cannot understand which candidate is the son or daughter of which captain. The name of the parents is not written in the examination booklet which can be identified by seeing. Now if a relative of a pilot gets a job through merit, no one can stop it.

 

When asked to know the reaction of creating a family system through the sons and daughters and relatives of the pilots in this way, the country's aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam expressed extreme concern and said that 80 percent of the safety and security of an aircraft depends on the cockpit crew i.e. the pilots. That is why pilots are recruited worldwide through rigorous competition and merit checks. But what is happening in the plane is an open secret. Sadia, a female aviator who passed higher secondary in humanities, joined here as a pilot without minimum educational qualification.

 

When it was caught, there was an outcry at home and abroad, and even though Biman was able to salvage his job by firing him, questions were raised about his management skills, integrity, professionalism and ethics. If 60 of the 170 pilots are relatives, then that is terrible news. Thus, there is no way to take a state flag airline for granted.

 

So I think, ongoing pilot recruitment test should be through air force. The Air Force will question, write and verbally send the final list to the aircraft. Only then the truly worthy and talented will come. Then no one else will get a chance to become a pilot after passing humanities like Sadia.