Ajit Pawar (IANS Photo)
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others have died after their business jet crashed during a botched landing attempt at Baramati airfield on January 28. The aircraft, a Bombardier Learjet 45XR registered as VT-SSK, was operating a non-scheduled flight from Mumbai to Baramati when it went down at approximately 8:44 am. Now, Flightradar, live flight tracker that shows air traffic in real time, has provided some crucial data about the flight.“The aircraft was attempting a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed,” Flightradar said in a post.
“The aircraft involved in this morning’s tragic crash in India was this Bombardier Learjet 45XR, registered as VT-SSK. It was built in 2010 and operated by the VSR Group. It received its Indian registration on June 2nd 2021. It had previously been owned and operated by a number of US operators. The Learjet 45 is a mid-sized business jet manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace. More than 640 aircraft were reportedly built between 1995 and 2012,” it said in a separate post.According to the live flight tracker, the plane was moving at a ground speed of 157 knots and the data on the “Indicated Airspeed” is not available. It had a Barometric altitude of 2,719 feet.
DGCA on what went wrong with Ajit Pawar’s flight
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data and preliminary reports, the pilots struggled with visibility despite meteorological reports indicating conditions were within manageable limits.It said that the aircraft first contacted Baramati at 8:18 am and was released by Pune Approach to descend at the pilot’s discretion. However, the crew reported they could not spot the runway during their initial descent.“On the second approach, the crew again reported the runway not in sight before subsequently stating that it was visible. The aircraft was cleared to land at 8.43 am, but no readback of the landing clearance was received. Moments later, flames were observed near the threshold of Runway 11. The wreckage was found on the left side of the runway abeam the threshold,” the DGCA statement said.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has officially launched the investigation into the accident.
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