A Biman Bangladesh Airlines passenger flight made an emergency landing after losing a wheel from its main landing gear. The incident occurred shortly after flight BG 436 took off from Cox’s Bazar Airport, Bangladesh, on May 16, 2025.
The Incident of the Airlines making an emergency landing
The domestic flight carrying 71 passengers was en route to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although details haven’t been disclosed yet, the General Manager of Public Relations of Biman Bangladesh, ABM Rawshan Kabir, said the incident occurred at 14:19 p.m. local time, just after take-off.
ABM Rawshan Kabir said:
Soon after taking off from Cox’s Bazar, one of the rear wheels detached and fell off. Upon learning about the issue, we declared an emergency landing. Our engineering team took a position near the runway.
Despite not confirming the exact reason or details about the mid-air wheel loss, he informed that all passengers disembarked safely, and the aircraft’s mechanical faults are currently under investigation.
A pattern of oversight
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has made an emergency landing due to safety oversights several times over the past decade. The airline often faced maintenance issues, yet it failed to take appropriate measures. In 2007, the nose gear of an Airbus A310-300 (S2-ADE) collapsed during take-off at Dubai International Airport with 236 passengers onboard.
In 2021, the right engine of a Boeing 777-300 ER failed due to contamination from Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) in the fuel nozzle valves that led to mechanical damage in the low-pressure turbine. Therefore, the flight executed a high-speed rejected take-off.
In February 2024, due to an engine pressure issue, because of low engine pressure, the domestic flight BG-481 had to make an emergency landing 20 minutes after taking off. In the same year, in May, a Biman Bangladesh aircraft broke down on the runway, halting operations for four hours. The incident occurred due to a defect in the nose wheel.
While Biman Bangladesh has periodically upgraded its fleet by adding modern aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the safety record of the company had a track record of failing to keep pace with international safety standards.
A series of ground handling mishaps was seen in the year 2022, where a Boeing 737 collided with a Boeing 777 during towing operations inside a hangar, exposing a lack of operational discipline. This incident in April 2022 led to the suspension of five officials, including the principal engineer. In the same year, in June, a US-Bangla Airlines baggage cart struck a Biman Boeing 737, causing slight damage. Ten days after that, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner of the airline collided with a boarding bridge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and in July, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner collided with a Boeing 737 during hangar operations, damaging both aircraft’s wings.
Other cases include nose gear malfunctions, jet bridge collisions, and maintenance scheduling irregularities. Each of these may seem small in isolation, but together they form a troubling pattern.
Regulatory Oversight Under Question
Despite the authorities of Biman Bangladesh informing that the current incident is under investigation, critics argue that regulatory bodies either lack the teeth or the will to enforce international safety norms consistently.
According to passengers, aviation experts, and even some insiders, the airline has to implement significant structural changes rather than band-aid solutions. These include a no-compromise stance on aviation safety, independent technical assessments, and investments in improved engineering infrastructure.
Over the years, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has seen repeated mid-flight technical issues, hangar collisions, ground handling accidents, and airlines making emergency landings. It brings back the issue of poor oversight or systematic maintenance flaws. Some investigations even pointed to the fact that some of these incidents are not just lapses of technical servicing but also lapses of managerial responsibility and engineering audits.
As the recent incident undergoes investigation, it is likely to raise questions about whether Biman Bangladesh is doing enough to meet the international safety standards.
In global aviation, reputation is often built — or broken — on how airlines respond to crises. With increasing public scrutiny, Biman Bangladesh Airlines now faces a choice: either confront its internal safety shortcomings with transparency and resolve or risk losing both public trust and international credibility.
For now, passengers are relieved that flight BG 436 landed safely. However, the real question is whether repeated cases where the news of “airlines making an emergency landing” will finally trigger reforms.
What do you think of the incidents happening to Biman Bangladesh Airlines? Let us know in the comments below!
