The air force headquarters yesterday formed an inquiry committee to probe the crash of a BAF training plane (PT-6 fighter) in Kotchandpur in Jhenidah, in which the flight cadet was killed on the spot. The inquiry committee has been asked to submit report in 24 hours.

Air Vice Marshal Fakhrul Azam on August 19, 2003 informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Ministry that a total of 43 pilots were killed in training plane crashes.

The airforce headquarters inquired into each of the deaths.

"Ten percent accidents occurred due to the fault of the pilots while 40 percent for technical faults and the reasons behind the remaining 50 percent accidents have not been unearthed," the air force chief was quoted in the first report of the standing committee on defence that was placed in parliament.

"Accidents of training planes are usual and a number of accidents occurred in the history of Bangladesh Air Force," a senior officer of BAF said, adding, "But the number of accidents is less than that in other neighbouring countries."

Then chief of BAF Air Vice Marshal Khademul Bashar was killed in a training plane crash in 1977, he added.

On June 7, 2005, a training aircraft of BAF, F-7, crashed onto a tin-roofed house in Uttara of the capital, injuring six people including two babies. The lone crew, BAF Flight Lieutenant Ahsanul Kabir, however, escaped unhurt as he jumped with a parachute at the last moment. The accident occurred due to a technical fault.