Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five other persons were killed on Wednesday morning when a chartered aircraft crashed at the Baramati airport. The aircraft operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, departed from Mumbai at 8.10am on Wednesday. Pawar was on his way to address four rallies in Pune district for the upcoming local body elections.
The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali. Meanwhile, civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu has said that the initial report suggests that the visibility was poor when the aircraft attempted landing in Baramati.
The Government released a statement detailing a sequence of events that led to the crash saying the aircraft, was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday morning after a go-around due to poor visibility. However, having finally received a clearance the crew did not give any read-back’ to the Air Traffic Control (ATC), and moments later the aircraft burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
In aviation parlance, a go-around is a standard procedure where a pilot discontinues a landing attempt and initiates a climb to fly another approach.It is used when a landing cannot be completed safely due to factors like poor weather, an unstable approach, or traffic on the runway. It is a proactive safety measure rather than an emergency.
In aviation, a readback is a crucial safety procedure where a pilot repeats back the essential parts of a message or instruction received from Air Traffic Control (ATC). It acts as a “closed-loop” communication system, ensuring that the controller’s instructions were heard and understood correctly by the flight crew.
VSR Group received its Indian registration on June 2nd 2021. The aircraft had previously been owned and operated by a number of US operators. On 14.09.2023, one of the company aircraft, Learjet 45 aircraft with registration VT-DBL was involved in an accident as it attempted to land amid bad weather at Mumbai airport. According to records available with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a 14-year-old Learjet 45 (registered as VT- DBL)-operated by VSR Aviation and flying from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai-crash landed while attempting to land in Mumbai amid “heavy rains and reduced visibility”. There were six people on board and they all survived the accident. The accident is under investigation by AAIB.
Timeline of the crash
08.10 am: Aircraft takes off from Mumbai
08.18 am: Aircraft makes first radio contact with Baramati.
(Time not specified): Aircraft reported 30 NM inbound to Baramati and was released by Pune Approach. Crew was advised to descend in Visual Meteorological conditions at pilot’s discretion.
(Subsequently): Crew enquired about wind and visibility. ATC informed winds calm and visibility approximately 3000 metres.
(First approach): Aircraft reported on final approach Runway 11. Crew reported runway not in sight and initiated a go-around.
(After go-around): ATC asked for aircraft position. Crew reported on final approach Runway 11 again.
(Shortly thereafter): Aircraft was instructed to report runway in sight.
Crew replied: “Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight.”
(A few seconds later): Crew reported runway in sight.
08.43 am: Aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 11.
No readback of landing clearance was received from the crew.
08.44 am: ATC observed flames near the threshold of Runway 11. Emergency services were immediately dispatched.
