Dhaka, May 19 -- The detachment of a wheel from a Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft en route from Cox's Bazar to Dhaka was due to a bearing failure or malfunction, according to an initial assessment by the airline authority.

In a statement issued on Monday, Biman said that preliminary observations point to the bearing failure as the likely reason behind the incident. However, the exact cause of the failure will only be confirmed after a full investigation.

To that end, two committees have been formed -- one for safety review and the other for a detailed inquiry.

The aircraft in question was a Dash-8 Q400 model, manufactured by Canada's De Havilland Aircraft Company.

According to Biman, such a bearing malfunction could result in a whe...