Post by : Meena Ariff

The black box from the Learjet aircraft that crashed on Wednesday morning, killing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, has been recovered. The device, which includes the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, will be carefully examined to determine the cause of the fatal crash.

The Learjet 45, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, went down while attempting a second landing at Baramati Airport around 8:45 am. Onboard were 66-year-old Ajit Pawar, his personal security officer, an attendant, and two pilots—Sumit Kapur, the pilot-in-command, and co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak. Sadly, all five passengers lost their lives in the accident.

Ajit Pawar had left Mumbai at about 8 am to attend several election rallies in his hometown of Baramati ahead of the local body elections. Following the crash, a specialized team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau arrived at the site to launch a forensic probe into the accident.

Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that the last communication from the cockpit included the phrase, “oh s***,” suggesting sudden distress. Baramati airport’s ground control is managed by pilot cadets from local aviation schools, Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation, who maintained contact with the aircraft during its landing attempts.

The Civil Aviation Ministry detailed the sequence of events leading up to the crash: The plane, registered as VT-SSK, established contact with Baramati airport control at 8:18 am. The pilot, with over 15,000 flying hours, and co-pilot, with about 1,500 hours, were briefed on the weather, including visibility around 3,000 meters, and given permission to land at their discretion.

As the plane approached Runway 11, the pilot reported that the runway was not visible and was instructed to execute a go-around, a common procedure when a safe landing cannot be made. After circling, the crew confirmed they had the runway in sight and were cleared to land at 8:43 am. However, the aircraft did not give the mandatory readback confirmation for landing clearance.

At 8:44 am, air traffic control spotted flames near the runway, indicating the plane had crashed.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the precise reasons behind this tragic accident, which has deeply shocked the state and the nation.

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