New Delhi: The plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, along with four others including crew members, Wednesday crashed around 25 minutes after it first made contact with the Air Control Traffic (ATC) at Baramati airport. With no survivors post the fatal accident, an investigation has now been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a statement, providing the sequence of events leading to the crash.
The aircraft VI-SSK first came in contact with Baramati at 8.18 am. The Baramati airfield is uncontrolled, which means traffic information is provided by instructors or pilots from flying training organisations in the area, the statement said.
According to the person manning the ATC at the time, the aircraft crew were advised to descend in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) at pilot’s discretion. VMC refers to weather conditions with enough visibility and cloud clearance for pilots to fly by sight.
When the crew enquired about winds and visibility, they were told that winds were calm, with visibility of around 3,000 metres.
The aircraft reported on final approach of Runway 11, and the runway was not in sight to them. The crew initiated a go-around in the first approach, after which they were again asked to report runway in sight. To this, they replied, “Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight.”
However, after a few seconds, they reported that the runway was in sight. The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 8.43 am, but there was no readback of the landing clearance.
The ATC then saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 8.44 am, after which emergency services rushed to the crash site.
Further, according to the statement, the Learjet 45 aircraft involved in the accident was owned by M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd. In September 2023, another Learjet 45 owned by the company had been involved in an accident while landing at Mumbai Airport. All occupants of the aircraft had then been evacuated, but the co-pilot had reportedly sustained serious injuries. The accident is still under investigation by AAIB, the ministry said.
The pilot in command in Wednesday’s crash had more than 15,000 hours of flying experience.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also read: Ajit Pawar: Brash, tireless, ambitious, the ‘Dada’ from Baramati