In the span of just over a month, two devastating aircraft crashes have struck educational institutions in South Asia, leaving behind shattered buildings, grieving families, and haunting questions.
On June 12, 2025, an Air India Dreamliner carrying over 240 passengers crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad, India. Just weeks later, on July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force training jet tore through the campus of Milestone School & College in Dhaka’s Uttara area. Both disasters unfolded during peak school hours. Both claimed the lives of students. And both seemed, eerily, to strike where it would hurt a nation most — its youth, its future.
Coincidence? Or calculated sabotage?
Incident 1: Air India Flight 171 – Ahmedabad, India
🚨 Incident 1: Air India Flight 171 – Ahmedabad, India
The first tragedy unfolded just seconds after takeoff. Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, veered off course and plunged into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad around lunchtime.
- All but one of the 242 onboard were killed.
- At least 19 others perished on the ground, including medical students and staff.
- Eyewitnesses described the plane’s trajectory as unnatural and its descent almost deliberate.
Black box data has been recovered. Investigators are scouring telemetry logs, radar traces, and the aircraft’s electronic systems for signs of failure — or tampering.
🚨 Incident 2: F-7 BGI Jet Crash – Dhaka, Bangladesh
On July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training jet took off from Dhaka around 1:06 p.m. and crashed just 20 minutes later into the bustling Milestone School & College campus in Uttara.
- Initial reports list 16–19 dead, with 100+ injured, many severely burned.
- The plane appeared unstable before impact, spiraling before striking the school.
- Witnesses described a sudden explosion, students fleeing in panic, and injured victims rushed away in rickshaws and metro cars.
A state day of mourning was declared in Bangladesh, and military authorities launched an investigation. But as with the Ahmedabad crash, the damage — physical and emotional — was done.
🎯 The Pattern: Students, Schools, and Symbolism
The parallels are too glaring to ignore:
| Feature | Ahmedabad Crash | Dhaka Crash |
|---|---|---|
| Date | June 12, 2025 | July 21, 2025 |
| Aircraft | Boeing 787-8 (civilian) | F-7 BGI (military) |
| Location | BJ Medical College Hostel | Milestone School & College |
| Casualties | ~260 dead | 100+ injured, 16–19 dead |
| Time of Day | Lunchtime | School hours (~1:30 PM) |
| Victims | Medical students, staff | School students, staff |
| Crash Trajectory | Into an educational facility | Into an educational facility |
That both aircraft — one civilian, one military — struck educational campuses during peak hours, killing students and educators, hints at something more than coincidence. It invites a chilling question: Could these tragedies have been deliberate?
🧠 Motives Behind Possible Sabotage
If these were indeed acts of aviation sabotage, what could be the goal?
1. Psychological Warfare
Targeting students, especially those training to be professionals (doctors, engineers), sends a traumatic national message: your future is not safe.
2. Political Destabilization
Both India and Bangladesh face internal political strains. Crashing aircraft into schools could serve to:
- Undermine public trust
- Trigger protests
- Embarrass current administrations
3. Technological Signaling
These incidents may have been demonstrations of remote interference, GPS spoofing, or control hijacking — meant to test or show off high-tech capabilities from hostile actors.
4. Symbolic Attack
By striking education — the intellectual engine of a society — an attacker aims to wound both morale and meaning. It’s not just a crash. It’s a message.
🚧 Official Response: Silence or Caution?
Neither the Government of India nor the Bangladeshi Armed Forces have confirmed foul play.
Investigations are ongoing, and the language remains focused on:
- Technical malfunction
- Weather factors
- Pilot error or mechanical failure
But the public imagination is moving faster than official statements. Social media, local forums, and even independent analysts are drawing connections — and asking whether both crashes were mere accidents or deliberate attacks cloaked in tragedy.
🧩 What Happens Next?
If sabotage is confirmed, we can expect:
- International diplomatic fallout
- Military posture changes
- Public outrage
- Calls for accountability, justice, and reform
If sabotage is not confirmed — and both are chalked up to tragic coincidence — we are still left with:
- Hundreds of families broken
- National mourning in two countries
- Renewed fear of flying and public vulnerability
✍️ Final Words
Whether by human hands or cruel chance, the loss of innocent students and educators in two separate aviation disasters has sent shockwaves across South Asia.
And while investigators comb through black boxes and wreckage, the rest of us are left to connect the dots — and hope we’re wrong.
Until there is truth, there will be suspicion.
Until there is justice, there will be grief.
Written July 21, 2025
— A reflection on two tragedies that may share more than bad luck.