Captain Nawshad Ataul Quaiyum, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines pilot whose illness forced the emergency landing of a Dhaka-bound flight from Muscat in India’s Nagpur, has died while on life support.
The pilot suffered a heart attack in mid-air and was taken to Kingsway Hospital in Nagpur, where he died on Monday, according to Biman Bangladesh spokeswoman Tahera Khandaker, reports bdnews24.com.
“We have heard from the hospital that he is no longer with us,” she said.
Captain Nawshad was over 45 years of age, said Mahbubur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Airlines Pilot Association.
Efforts were underway from all quarters to return his body to Bangladesh.
Nawshad’s cousin, Farhana Shifa, had previously posted about his death on her Facebook account.
Captain Nawshad was flying Flight BG 22, carrying 124 passengers, on Friday morning when he fell ill. His co-pilot contacted Kolkata’s Air Traffic Control and the Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport.
An ambulance waiting at the airport took him to the hospital after landing. He had an angiogram test there. The Indian media said he had suffered a heart attack.
Biman sent a crew of eight from Dhaka to fly back the passengers on Friday night.
