Mumbai: A month after the deadly plane crash in Baramati led to the death of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) submitted its preliminary report on the tragedy on Saturday.
The report said that both pilots of the aircraft, VSR Aviation chartered jet Learjet45XR, underwent a breathalyzer (BA) test just before flying. While the first test was conducted at 07:11 AM, the second test was conducted at 07:16 AM. It added that the video of the process was recorded by the Operations Department through WhatsApp. Both pilots were found to be negative.
Was the weather the reason?
The report also pointed out the weather and said that the controller reported visibility as 3 kilometres. While the aircraft performed a go-around after the initial approach, the next approach reported “field in sight,” and landing clearance was also given for runway 11.
The aircraft then emitted a “Oh Shit… Oh Shitt…” sound and crash-landed on the left side, parallel to the runway 11 threshold, the report added. It also said that the investigation is ongoing and a final report will be issued only after a thorough examination is done.
Notably, the Baramati Airfield is an uncontrolled airfield located in Maharashtra. It has been operated by the Maharashtra Airport Development ATC is operated using a hand-held radio (RT) here. There are no navigational aids on the airfield, with only two windsocks installed (both on Runway 29). The windsock on Runway 11 was not available.
Ajit Pawar was on his way to Baramati
On January 28, Ajit Pawar and four others died after their plane crash landed in Baramati. He was on his way to the district to attend an election campaign. The state government ordered a probe into the incident after the crash.