Baramati, Jan 28: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday.
Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 zilla parishad elections.
The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
The government released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Pawar’s death.
The aircraft, a Learjet, was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday morning after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance it did not give any read-back’ to the ATC, and moments later 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.
The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told reporters in Pune.
The statement by his ministry recounted the final minutes of the ill-fated Learjet 45 belonging to VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd that crashed, leading to the death of all five persons on board, including Pawar.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken over the investigation, the statement said.
VSR Ventures’ fleet includes seven Learjet 45 aircraft (including the one involved in the crash), five Embraer 135BJ aircraft, four King Air B200 aircraft and one Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, the statement said.
According to Flight Radar, the aircraft took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. The aircraft crashed a minute later, police said.
There were five passengers, including Pawar, his Personal Security Officer and an attendant, along with two crew members (pilot in-command and the first officer) on board, a DGCA official said.
Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. “People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital,” he said.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha and two sons, Parth and Jay.
His Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in alliance with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders expressed grief over Pawar’s demise.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who reached Baramati, described Ajit Pawar’s tragic death as unbelievable, and said he had lost a good friend.
According to an eyewitness, the ill-fated aircraft appeared “a bit unstable in the air” and exploded the moment it crashed on the ground.
Another eyewitness said the aircraft burst into flames after the crash.
Maharashtra government declared a three-day state mourning till January 30, during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings.
Ajit Pawar’s last rites will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati.
Modi and Shah are expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 am, the Nationalist Congress Party said.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar visited the Baramati airport and also the medical college where Ajit Pawar’s body was taken from the crash site.
The NCP founder’s daughter Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha member from Baramati, appeared inconsolable over her cousin’s tragic demise. (PTI)
