A Bombardier Dash 8 from the Bangladeshi flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines skidded off the runway at Yangon International Airport (RGN), Myanmar on May 9, 2019. At least 17 people were injured.
The aircraft, registered S2-AGQ, was carrying 29 passengers and four crew members. It was carrying out flight BG60 from Dhaka International Airport (DAC), Bangladesh, to Myanmar’s capital.
Manjurul Karim Khan Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s ambassador in Myanmar, said the aircraft was caught in crosswinds while landing. “The main reason, the pilot told me, was the weather – crosswinds,” commented Chowdury, quoted by Reuters. “When he was trying to land… suddenly the aircraft jumped, went up and went down heavily.” A thunderstorm was reported in the area at the time of the landing.
Pictures posted on social media show that the plane has completely collapsed on the runway, and its fuselage broke down in several points.
Photos at Yangon International Airport today evening, Biman Airline flight slipped off runway at Yangon International Airport today evening. pic.twitter.com/agPMfowciL
— Arakan Times Online (@arakan_voice) May 8, 2019
The airport runway was briefly closed due to the accident. Injured passengers and crew members were evacuated to a local airport for treatment.
More than a year ago, on March 12, 2018, flight BS211 of the US-Bangla Airlines took off from the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, and was headed for the Nepal capital Kathmandu. On landing, the aircraft, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, clipped the fence of the Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) and crashed, bursting into flames. Out of the 71 people on board, 51 were killed. Both the pilot and the first officer also died in the crash. The investigation ruled pilot disorientation and a lack of situation awareness from the captain due to an argument as the main cause for the crash.