Global accolade for Bangladeshi pilot

Captain Sayed Mahbub Helal, a retired pilot of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, has been honoured with the President's Citation.

For the first time in the history of the aviation, an Asian pilot achieved this prestigious award from the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA).

The award was handed over to Helal at the annual conference of the world pilots' forum at Montreal, Canada on May 6.

IFALPA accorded the honour to Helal in presence of the officials of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the Federal Aviation Administration and other stakeholders of the aviation world, Biman said in a statement.

In every five years, the technical jury board selects only one pilot for this award from all the airline pilots' communities in the world.

The award was given to Helal for his outstanding contribution towards the improvement of the airline pilots, according to the statement.

Helal had earlier served Bangladesh Airlines Pilots Association as president for several terms. He joined Biman Bangladesh Airlines in 1984 and retired from there in 2014, Biman said.