The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has flagged lapses in pilot training, record-keeping and internal audits at VSR Ventures, the charter operator whose aircraft crashed in Baramati in January 2026, killing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.
In its final report on a separate Learjet 45XR accident at Mumbai airport on September 14, 2023, the agency identified the flight crew’s decision to continue an unstable approach in marginal weather conditions as the probable cause of the crash. The aircraft, registered as VT-DBL, was operated by VSR Ventures and was arriving from Visakhapatnam.
According to the report, the crew continued the approach despite deteriorating conditions and subsequently handled the aircraft in a manner that led to an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. The aircraft could not recover from the stall. Rain affected the pilots’ visual cues, while a strong tailwind added to the challenging landing conditions. The monitoring pilot also called for a go-around late.
The investigation found that both engines were functioning normally and that the aircraft’s serviceability was not a contributing factor in the accident.
The report also raised concerns about the operator’s safety practices. Investigators found that recurrent training for some Learjet pilots did not fully cover critical emergency procedures within the prescribed annual cycle, including simulator-based exercises. Technical and airframe logbooks were also not properly maintained, while internal audits were not conducted diligently.
The findings have renewed scrutiny of the operator’s safety oversight following the January 28, 2026, crash near Baramati that killed Ajit Pawar and four others on board a VSR-operated Learjet.
Following that fatal crash, aviation authorities initiated additional scrutiny of the operator. The earlier Mumbai accident report also recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conduct a one-time review of training records for fixed-wing pilots, particularly those working with non-scheduled and general aviation operators, to verify that mandatory simulator training had been completed.
The report further noted that the DGCA’s audit and surveillance records did not reflect all the shortcomings identified during the investigation, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing oversight mechanisms.
The findings concern the 2023 Mumbai accident and do not, by themselves, establish the cause of the separate Baramati crash. The investigation into the Baramati accident remains a distinct inquiry.
The latest report has brought renewed attention to pilot training, operator-level safety checks and regulatory oversight in India’s charter aviation sector, particularly in the wake of the fatal crash involving Ajit Pawar.