The tragic crash of a military jet at Milestone School and College in Uttara, which claimed at least 33 lives and injured over 150, is not merely an accident — it is the outcome of years of systemic negligence and regulatory failure.
The preliminary report by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) has made it clear that this catastrophe was foreseeable, given the school’s location directly within the airport’s 13,000-foot approach corridor, an area that should never have been approved for high-density development.
International aviation standards strictly prohibit the construction of crowd-gathering institutions in critical approach and obstacle limitation zones.
Yet, according to a report published in this newspaper on Saturday, Milestone School stands on land originally designated as a water retention and buffer area under the 1995 Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP).
This land was illegally filled and repurposed, with approvals granted by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), which has now admitted that it is still investigating whether building codes were violated.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) had previously flagged this area as part of the Inner Horizontal and Inner Approach zones, underscoring its unsuitability for such development.
The responsibility for this disaster is collective and spans multiple authorities. RAJUK, CAAB, the Education Ministry, and the city corporation all failed to enforce the necessary safeguards.
As BIP’s General Secretary rightly observed, accountability does not stop at the builders; it extends to the state agencies that wilfully ignored aviation safety regulations.
The absence of coherent urban planning has turned vital aviation corridors into high-risk zones.
BIP’s findings that there are no clear guidelines on the density or function of buildings within these approach areas expose glaring gaps in oversight.
As a retired Wing Commander noted, maintaining the obstacle clearance limit is not optional — it is a mandatory safety requirement.
The state must act decisively. A high-level government committee should immediately identify all schools, hospitals, and other public institutions in airport approach zones and relocate them.
Aviation safety laws must be enforced with zero tolerance for violations. Those responsible for regulatory failures — past and present — must face consequences.
This tragedy is a grim reminder that unchecked urban sprawl and regulatory complacency can cost lives. Unless swift reforms are enacted, we will merely be awaiting the next preventable disaster.
