Kumar Bahukhandi
Poor visibility was the cause of crash-PTI
Mumbai: The aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday January 28, 2026 morning after a go-around forced by poor visibility, but having finally received the clearance it did not give any ‘read-back’ or confirmation to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said earlier. A 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.
Baramati has an ‘uncontrolled airfield’ (which generally means it lacks a proper instrument landing system to guide aircraft during low-visibility operations) and traffic information is provided by the instructors/pilots from the Flying training Organisations at Baramati.
The aircraft VI-SSK first came in contact at 8.18 am, as per the Baramati Air Traffic Control (ATC).
Its next call was at 30 nautical miles inbound to Baramati. It was advised to descend in “visual meteorological conditions” at the pilot’s discretion.
The crew enquired about the winds and visibility, and were informed that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3,000 metres.
“Next the aircraft reported on the final approach of Runway 11 and the runway was not in sight to them. They initiated a go-around in the first approach,” the civil aviation ministry statement said.
After the go-around, the crew was again asked if they could spot the runway.
The reply was: “Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight”.
After a few seconds, the crew reported that they could spot the runway.
“The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843 IST (8.43 am). However, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance (did not respond to ATC). Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST (8.44 am),” the statement said.
The emergency services then rushed to the crash site, but it was too late.
In aviation, `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.
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. 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 Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken over the investigation. DG, AAIB is reaching the accident site for investigation, the statement said.
The aircraft carrier was a Non-Scheduled Operator (NSOP) with Permit No 07/2014. Initial AOP (Airport Operations Plan) was issued on April 21 2014. The AOP was last renewed on April 3 2023 and is valid till April 20 2028, it said.
Its fleet included 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 last regulatory audit of the aircraft carrying Pawar was carried out by DGCA in February 2025, and “no level-I findings were issued”, the statement said.
The aircraft was manufactured in 2010. The C of A (certificate of airworthiness) was issued on December 16, 2021. The Cof R (Certificate of Registration) was issued on December 27, 2022. The ARC (airworthiness review certificate) was issued on September 10, 2025, and was valid until September 14, 2026.
(Source-PTI)
