Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 147

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 147 was a scheduled flight from Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh, to Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates, via Chittagong. On 24 February 2019, the aircraft operating the flight, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 737-800, was hijacked 252 kilometres (157 mi) southeast of Dhaka by lone wolf terrorist Polash Ahmed.[1] The crew performed an emergency landing at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong where Ahmed was shot dead by Bangladeshi special forces. One flight attendant was shot at during the hijacking, but there were no other reported casualties among the 134 passengers and 14 crew on board.[2][3]

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 147
S2-AHV, the aircraft involved in the hijacking seen in September 2017
Hijacking
Date24 February 2019 (2019-02-24)
SummaryAttempted hijacking
SiteHijacked 252 km southeast of Dhaka. Emergency landing performed at Chittagong airport.
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-8E9
OperatorBiman Bangladesh Airlines
IATA flight No.BG147
ICAO flight No.BBC147
Call signBangladesh 147
RegistrationS2-AHV
Flight originDhaka, Bangladesh
StopoverChittagong, Bangladesh
DestinationDubai, UAE
Occupants148 (including hijacker)
Passengers134
Crew14
Fatalities1 (hijacker)
Injuries1
Survivors147

Aircraft

The Boeing 737-8E9 aircraft (MSN: 40335/5715) registered S2-AHV was built in 2015 and first flew on December 11, 2015. The aircraft was the second of the type delivered new to Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Boeing in late 2015. At the time of the hijacking, the aircraft was 3 years and 3 months old.

Events

Prior to hijacking

According to FlightAware, S2-AHV was flying its third flight of the day as Flight 147. It had previously flown a round trip between Shahjalal International Airport and Shah Amanat International Airport, and a special flight carrying Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to Chittagong, on that day. The aircraft was serviced and flight and cabin crew were changed, and just under two hours later at 17:13, the aircraft departed for Dubai.[4][5][6]

Hijacking

Cabin crew noticed the perpetrator acting strangely for most of the flight; he was supposedly armed with a toy pistol.[7] The plane diverted and performed an emergency landing. Passengers were evacuated.[8] The suspected hijacker was identified as a man in his mid-20s who demanded to speak with his wife, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[9]

Assault

The 737 was boarded by Bangladeshi special forces who demanded that the hijacker drop his weapon. When the hijacker failed to comply, he was shot dead. It is not known how many shots were fired.[10][11][12]

Hijacker

The Rapid Action Battalion identified the hijacker as Polash Ahmed of Narayanganj after his fingerprints matched with those of a person in the criminal database. He was previously accused in an abduction case filed on February 22, 2012. He used Mahibi Jahan as his Facebook profile name.

He was the former husband of National Film Award winning actress Shimla; the couple divorced in November 2018. He had a two-year-old son from an earlier marriage.[13][14]

References
  1. "Hijacking foiled on Dubai-bound flight". WTSP. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  2. "No casualties and suspect arrested". The Telegraph. Kolkata. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  3. "Cabin crew shot at". News Nation. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. "'Siamo riusciti a salvare tutti'". Ticinonline (in Italian). 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. "Bangladesh Biman (BG) #147 ✈ FlightAware". FlightAware. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  6. "S2-AHV Live Flight Tracking and History (Owner: Unknown Owner) ✈ 24-Feb-2019 ✈ DAC / VGHS - CGP / VGEG ✈ FlightAware". FlightAware. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. "Biman flight hijack drama at Chittagong airport ends with gunman shot dead". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  8. "Bangladesh foils plane hijack attempt passengers safe". The Week. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  9. Ives, Mike (2019-02-25). "Passenger Forces Bangladesh Plane to Land and Is Fatally Shot". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  10. "Bangladesh plane 'hijacker' shot dead". 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  11. Haider, Liton; Chowdhury, Mintu; Dhruba, Golam Mujtaba. "Commando blitz ends Bangladesh plane hijack drama; suspect dies, all passengers, crew unharmed". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  12. "Απόπειρα αεροπειρατείας στο Μπαγκλαντές (βίντεο)". Kathimerini.com.cy. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  13. "A man with dubious past". The Daily Star.
  14. "RAB identifies hijacker as Palash of N'ganj". The Independent. Dhaka.
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