2025 Dhaka Chengdu J-7 crash
Bangladesh Air Force Chengdu FT-7BGI · Crashed shortly after takeoff due to pilot error and loss of control
From BAF Base Bir Uttom A. K. Khandker to an unrecorded destination
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 37 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 36
- Occupants
- 1
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 173 · all on the ground
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Chengdu FT-7BGI
- Aircraft type
- Chengdu FT-7
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 2701
- Operator
- Bangladesh Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 1
- Route
- From BAF Base Bir Uttom A. K. KhandkerTo not recorded
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 21 July 2025, a Chengdu J-7 aircraft operated by the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) crashed shortly after takeoff into the Milestone School campus in the Uttara neighbourhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh, while classes were in session. Investigations found that the cause of the crash was pilot error, resulting in a loss of control of the aircraft. At least 37 people were killed in the crash, including the pilot and 28 students, and 173 others were injured. It is also commonly referred to as the Milestone tragedy.
The crash triggered widespread protests by students demanding accountability, transparency over the casualty figures, and decommissioning of outdated aircraft. Demonstrations spread across the country, during which clashes with security forces led to the removal of the Education Secretary from office. Governments and organizations worldwide expressed condolences over the incident.
Accident
The jet took off at 13:06 BST from BAF Base Bir Uttom A. K. Khandker. Sagar was on his first solo flight. The aircraft malfunctioned shortly after takeoff; the aircraft became unresponsive and stalled, and he was unable to control the plane. The control tower instructed him to eject, but due to the low altitude, ejection was not a feasible option. According to the public relations department of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, Inter-Services Public Relations, he attempted to steer the aircraft toward a sparsely inhabited zone. Communication with the control tower was lost shortly after this. Moments later, the aircraft crashed into the Milestone College building. The crash occurred at 13:12 BST (UTC+6). Sagar reportedly had ejected just seconds before the crash. He was found alive and was airlifted to the coronary care unit of Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, where he died from his injuries.
Video footage of the jet was captured on CCTV. It crashed into the main gate of Milestone College's Haider Ali Building, entering the building on the ground floor through one side and exiting through the other.
The incident occurred just before a school break, while classes were still in session. The aircraft struck the roof of the school's seven-storey Block 7 before directly hitting the Haider Ali Building, which at the time contained over 100 primary and secondary students. The impact created a hole at the building's gate, causing a fire. Eyewitnesses heard a loud sound and saw smoke and plumes of ashes rising from the crash site.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement that the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) had formed a high-level committee to investigate the incident. The ISPR attributed the accident to a mechanical fault and said that the pilot had "made every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas towards a more sparsely inhabited location". On July 22, BAF chief marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan also attributed the crash to a technical failure and denied that they were concealing the true death toll, adding that the BAF would provide assistance to the injured until their full recovery.
The High Court asked the government to establish a technical investigative committee. On 5 November 2025, the official investigation committee submitted their report to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. The report blamed pilot error for the crash.
The probe committee interviewed around 150 individuals, including experts, eyewitnesses, and victims' families, and collected 168 pieces of evidence. Based on its findings, it made 33 recommendations to the government.
As per the CA's press secretary Shafiqul Alam:"The probe body concluded that the tragedy resulted from a pilot's operational error during flight, which caused a loss of control over the aircraft. Among its key recommendations, the committee proposed that, for public safety, all initial Air Force training be conducted outside Dhaka. The situation went beyond his control."The report also revealed that the school building had not been approved in accordance with the Bangladesh National Building Code. Instead of the required three central staircases, the building had only one. The investigation indicated that this design flaw contributed to the high number of casualties.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2025 Dhaka Chengdu J-7 crash” (revision 1370883146, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2025 Dhaka Chengdu J-7 crash
- Article
- 2025 Dhaka Chengdu J-7 crash
- Revision
- 1370883146 · 2026-08-23 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q135433157
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2025 Dhaka Chengdu J-7 crash" (page 80491258, revision 1370883146)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: ground fatalities
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.