For many children who survived the country’s deadliest aviation disaster on a school campus, recovery remains far from complete
Nearly a year after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into Milestone School and College in Uttara, killing 36 people, including 28 students, the classrooms have reopened, examinations have resumed and lessons continue.
But for many children who survived the country’s deadliest aviation disaster on a school campus, recovery remains far from complete.
What was once a familiar sound has become a trigger.
Before the crash, students would often rush to classroom balconies whenever an aircraft flew overhead, watching it disappear into the sky.
Today, many instinctively freeze or look for cover when they hear the roar of an engine.
For them, the sound no longer represents curiosity, it recalls the afternoon of July 21, 2025.
A visit by Media to the Diyabari campus found the damaged Haider Ali Academic Building still abandoned behind a corrugated tin fence.
The upper floors facing the main road have been demolished, while the surrounding classrooms that once accommodated students from Classes I to VIII remain vacant.
The building has become a daily reminder of the tragedy for students who pass it on their way to class.
Muktadir, now a Class VI student, was inside the building when the aircraft crashed.
He recalled that teachers managed to evacuate students amid the chaos, but said the experience continues to shape his life.
“We used to enjoy watching planes from school,” he told Media.
“Now I’m frightened whenever I hear one.”
His voice broke as he remembered classmates who never returned and friends who later transferred to other schools.
Another student, Wasifia Zafrin, now in Class VII, said she still thinks about classmates who died in the disaster and admitted that every aircraft passing overhead revives memories of that day.
The emotional scars remain visible beyond the classroom.
Some students who suffered severe burns still do not attend regular classes, appearing only for examinations.
Among them is Samia Akhter, whose face and hand were badly burned in the crash.
Her mother, Shiuli Akter, said Samia continues to undergo laser treatment and will require reconstructive plastic surgery in the future.
“She cannot stay in the sun and still doesn’t attend classes regularly,” she said.
“She only comes for examinations.”
Parents say the abandoned building itself continues to reinforce children’s fears and have urged the authorities to complete its demolition and redevelopment as quickly as possible.
School authorities acknowledge that the trauma persists.
Public Relations Officer Shah Bulbul said teachers continue to provide psychological counselling and recently launched a healing initiative titled “You Are Immortal Among the Green,” during which 35 saplings were planted in memory of the students and teachers who lost their lives.
School in-charge Akram Hossain said counselling sessions remain part of regular classroom activities, while students still recovering physically are given additional support during examinations.
The anniversary also revives broader questions about aviation safety.
A government investigation concluded that pilot error caused the crash but also found that the school building failed to comply with RAJUK’s building code, having only one staircase instead of the required three — an architectural deficiency investigators believe contributed to the death toll.
Following the tragedy, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh recommended inspections of buildings within a 15-kilometre radius of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Air Commodore Md Noor-e-Alam told Media that inspections are under way in coordination with the Ministry of Land and RAJUK, although implementation has taken longer than expected.
For investigators, the crash has become a case study in aviation safety and urban planning.
For Milestone’s children, however, it remains something far more personal.
A year later, the classrooms are open again — but for many of those who survived, the sound of an aircraft still carries them back to the afternoon when childhood was interrupted in an instant.
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