“The good news is (that) it’s very simple to fly. The second and the third were added to Biman's fleet respectively on 24 February 2021 and 5 March 2021.With a maximum airspeed of 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour, the 18-rotor aircraft has room for a pilot and a passenger. The first of the three Dash-8s was purchased based on a government-to-government agreement between Bangladesh and Canada on 26 December 2020.
The suspension is for an indefinite period due to slow orders as airliners are preferring its closest competitor ATR. The carrier is also sourcing from Indian airline SpiceJet as the latter also has a large stock.ĭe Havilland pressed pause in its Dash 8 production in mid-2021 when Biman in the same year took delivery of two new aircraft of this family.
However, US-Bangla is able to operate its two Dash 8s using its own stock of spare parts as it has a large stock, he added. The availability of spare parts for this series has become more scarce after the pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war, he added. When contacted, Captain Lutfor Rahman, CEO of US-Bangla Airlines, said spare parts makers reduced production after De Havilland suspended manufacturing of Dash 8. US-Bangla also has two Dash 8s in operation and this operator is also facing problems in sourcing spare parts. Meanwhile, Biman has launched an inquiry over frequent tyre deflections of the planes to find whether it is happening due to low-quality products or lack of maintenance, he added. Now, having one grounded is causing flight disruptions, he mentioned.įor instance, two planes faced tyre deflection issues recently in Cox's Bazar and Saidpur, causing flight disruption as the standby aircraft remained grounded, the pilot added. But Biman still cannot repair the plane due to the shortage of spare parts.īiman prepared its flight schedule considering five planes it had available. One Dash 8 aircraft facing pressurisation problems had to be landed back in Dhaka six times in two weeks, he said. When certain pressure is not maintained, it causes breathing problems, headaches and other health hazards for heart patients, he added. Sharing his experience of flying Dash 8s after the issue arose, a pilot, on condition of anonymity, told the Business Standard that pilots sometimes cannot keep the needed altitude pressure inside the planes due to technical glitches. The shortage of spare parts forced the operator to compromise on some repair requirements, causing safety hazards for passengers, said a pilot of Biman who operates Dash 2. "Not only Biman, but other airliners operating Dash 8s are also going through a similar problem," Shafiul Azim added.īiman is now trying to go for the component service programmes with De Havilland to get an emergency supply of spare parts, he added. He said it is very difficult to find spare parts for Dash 8 as De Havilland has halted the production of this series.
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