Staff Correspondent:

The detachment of a wheel from a Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft en route from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka was due to a bearing failure or malfunction, according to an initial assessment by the airline authority.

In a statement issued on Monday, Biman said that preliminary observations point to the bearing failure as the likely reason behind the incident. However, the exact cause of the failure will only be confirmed after a full investigation.

To that end, two committees have been formed — one for safety review and the other for a detailed inquiry.

The aircraft in question was a Dash-8 Q400 model, manufactured by Canada’s De Havilland Aircraft Company.

According to Biman, such a bearing malfunction could result in a wheel coming off like it did in this incident.

The notion is in keeping with the manufacturer’s maintenance manual, which notes under task reference 05-50-17-210-801 that a wheel may completely detach in the event of bearing failure.

Biman has already contacted the Canadian manufacturer and requested a technical team to visit Dhaka. In response, the company confirmed that a specialised team was on its way.

The incident occurred on May 16, shortly after Flight BG-436 took off from Cox’s Bazar around 1:30pm, with 71 passengers and two crew members onboard. As the plane ascended, one of the wheels located near the landing gear fell off.

The flight was piloted by Captain Jamil Billah, who has nearly 8,000 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Zayed.

Recognising the gravity of the situation, the captain immediately notified air traffic control at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport.

An emergency landing was declared, and necessary measures were taken on the runway, including the deployment of Fire Service units and full emergency protocols.

Despite the incident, the aircraft landed safely at 2:20pm. Upon parking, engineers confirmed that the left-side landing gear’s wheel No. 2 was missing.

The missing wheel was later recovered from Samiti Para, a neighbourhood in Cox’s Bazar town.

Following the incident, Biman has not only launched an investigation but also issued safety directives and begun developing an action plan to return the aircraft to service.

As a precautionary measure, the engineering division also conducted an immediate inspection of the wheels on all Dash-8 aircraft currently stationed in Dhaka.

Biman said that while a bearing defect appears to be the cause of the wheel detachment, a definitive conclusion will be drawn once the probe committee submits its report.