Mumbai, Jan 28: A specialised team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) arrived at the Baramati crash site on Wednesday evening to initiate a forensic probe into the tragic accident that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.
The investigation is expected to focus on the technical factors that led to the crash of the Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, during its second attempt to land at Baramati table-top air strip.
“The investigation team has reached the (crash) site. They are on the job,” an AAIB official said on the condition of anonymity and did not divulge anything further.
AAIB has the mandate to investigate all accidents and serious incidents involving aircraft with a gross weight of 2,250 kg and more or turbojet aircraft.
Earlier in the day, AAIB was handed the probe into the crash.
Five people, including Pawar, his personal security officer and attendant, as well as two cockpit crew, pilot-in-command Sumit Kapur and first officer Shambhavi Pathak, were killed when the 16-year-old mid-size-business jet made the second attempt to land after doing a go around on Wednesday morning.
The aircraft, bearing registration VT-SSK, was being operated by the non-scheduled operator VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd.
The crew was advised to descend in visual meteorological conditions at the pilot’s discretion, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in its statement.
At that time, the winds were calm, and visibility was around 3,000 metres, it said.
Baramati airfield does not have an instrumental landing system – a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to an aircraft, allowing it to approach a runway at night, during bad weather and poor visibility.
The aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar 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’ or response to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility.
Baramati has an ‘uncontrolled airfield’, and traffic information is provided by the instructors/pilots from the Flying Training Organisations at Baramati.
An expert claimed that the Baramati plane crash could have been avoided if the airport runway had been equipped with an instrument landing system to guide the pilot through marginal visibility, according to an aviation expert. (PTI)
