Dhaka, Bangladesh: The official investigation into the Bangladesh Air Force trainer jet, a Chengdu J-7, crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara on July 21, 2025, identified deficiencies in pilot training and inadequate operational supervision as the principal causes of the tragedy. Yet the Interim Government has never released the report to the public, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and the public’s right to know.
Months after the disaster, fresh questions continue to surround the crash, which claimed 37 lives, including the pilot and 28 students, and left 173 others injured. Although the official inquiry reportedly identified significant shortcomings in pilot training and operational oversight, its findings have remained withheld from public scrutiny, fueling growing concerns over official transparency, institutional accountability, and the government’s handling of one of the country’s deadliest aviation disasters.
The investigation concluded that the pilot lacked adequate flight training and that there was insufficient supervision by the pilot’s ground supervisor or Officer Commanding. It also reconstructed the sequence of events before takeoff and the aircraft’s final seven minutes before it crashed into the school campus.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the Interim Government formed a nine-member investigation commission headed by former Secretary AKM Jafar Ullah Khan and
comprised a retired air vice marshal, three additional secretaries from three ministries, Dhaka’s divisional commissioner, an urban planner, and a professor of mechanical engineering department of BUET.
After more than three months of investigation, the commission submitted its findings to the government.
According to the BBC Bangla, and investigation commission report, “the FT-7BGI fighter jet—a Chinese-made single-seat aircraft used for air defence—took off for what was pilot Flight Lieutenant Taukir Islam’s first solo flight. The report detailed the events before and during the seven-minute flight.
The aircraft lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 1:13:11pm on the day of the crash. Despite five attempts to contact the pilot, no response was received. At 1:14:38pm, the Officer Commanding informed that the jet had crashed, which was confirmed six seconds later.
The report also noted that the aircraft was mechanically sound, with no warning signals from the engine, hydraulic or control systems before the crash. Maintenance and inspections had been carried out as per schedule, and the jet had completed a successful test flight earlier that morning.
The commission found discrepancies in the mission briefing. The first solo flight was expected to follow a ‘Low-Go’ pattern, but the Officer Commanding instructed the pilot to turn back to the initial approach point, which contradicted the mission profile.”
The commission also reviewed separate investigations conducted by the Bangladesh Air Force, Fire Service and Civil Defence, and the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK), incorporating their findings into its final report.
Despite the magnitude of the tragedy and the completion of the investigation, the Interim Government did not release the report to the public.
The decision has intensified calls for transparency and accountability, with critics arguing that victims’ families and the nation deserve full disclosure of the findings.
The government’s refusal to publish the report has also fueled speculation and prompted a broader question: If the official investigation attributed the crash to training and supervision failures, why was its report withheld from the public? The lack of transparency has led some observers to question whether there are undisclosed aspects of the tragedy that warrant further independent scrutiny.
To date, however, no publicly available evidence has established that the Milestone School and College air crash was orchestrated by the Interim Government over any ill motive, but the unanswered questions stem primarily from the government’s decision not to disclose the investigation report despite its completion.
