28 February,2026 09:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The plane carrying Ajit Pawar had crashed in Pune district on January 28. Pic/Attached in the report
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday released its preliminary report on the VSR Venture Learjet crash near Baramati that led to the death of late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.
The report, it said, was prepared based on the preliminary factual information and evidences collected during the initial stages of investigation.
The AAIB said that the information is preliminary and subject to change. Hence, unless and otherwise specified, no conclusion shall be drawn from the information provided in the report.
In its 22-page preliminary report, the AAIB stated that all aspects of the crash would be investigated to determine the facts, root causes, and contributory factors.
The AAIB highlighted the urgency of the following interim safety measures to prevent similar incidents.
The AAIB, in its report has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue strict instructions to operators flying Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to uncontrolled airfields, ensuring full compliance with standard operating procedures.
Operators conducting VFR flights to uncontrolled airfields must strictly follow laid-down standard operating procedures, the report suggests.
It said that Directions should be issued to all aerodrome operators to ensure flying operations, including non-scheduled, private, and charter flights, occur only when meteorological conditions comply with DGCA regulations.
The AAIB has highlighted the faded runway markings in its report.
The report states that both the pilots have flown to Baramati earlier and were aware of the topography of the airfield. As per the records available with the company, the Pilot in Command (PIC) and First Officer (FO) or Co-pilot had prior experience of operating number of VIP flights and other flights to uncontrolled airfield (Including Baramati).
The Baramati Airfield is an uncontrolled airfield which is managed and maintained by the Aerodrome Operator i.e. M/s Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC). The airfield is primarily used for flying training operations with two flying training organisations (FTOs) having their base at Baramati i.e. M/s Carver Aviation Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Redbird Flying Training Academy Pvt. Ltd. However, Non-scheduled operations (especially Chartered/VIP flights) are also being carried out at Baramati regularly.
Faded Runway Markings at Runway-11 end. Pic/Attached in the report
There are two temporary ATC towers each being operated and maintained by respective organisations. The ATC is being handled by the respective Students/Instructors of the FTOs with hand held RT which again is primarily used for assisting the flying training operations. However, the NonScheduled/chartered flights including VIP flights are also handled by either of the two towers manned by their instructors/students only, it stated.
According to the findings in the report, there is no MET facility available at Baramati Airfield. The weather information such as winds, temperature, QNH is generally passed on to the aircraft with the help of a weather instrument installed in the temporary tower of M/s Carver Aviation. There are two wind socks installed in the aerodrome towards runway 29 side. The visibility information is issued to the aircraft based on the visibility chart prepared by the flying training organisations having identified different visibility markers (such as permanent structures) at various locations around the airfield for flying training operations.
"On the day of accident, the tower was manned by a ground instructor of one of the FTO who was communicating with the aircraft to assist the landing. The crew of VT-SSK asked for visibility while approaching Baramati for which the tower replied as 3000 meters by looking at the visibility markers. Further, while giving the landing clearance, the tower informed winds as calm. Hence, the visibility reported at Baramati at the time of landing of aircraft was well below the minimum required for VFR flight which is 5000 meters (5 Km)," the report stated.
As per the report, the aircraft was attempting to land on runway 11 after obtaining landing clearance by Baramati tower. The aircraft, however, crash landed on the left of the runway abeam threshold of runway 11. As per the CCTV footages installed in nearby village, the aircraft was observed to have banked towards right before impacting the terrain.
Landing gear and Airframe Fuel Filter towards left. Pic/Attached in the report
The aircraft first impacted the trees before hitting the ground which is at a lower elevation than the runway surface. The ground impact of aircraft was at a lateral distance of about 50 meters on the left from edge of RWY 11. The aircraft was engulfed in fire during which the entire cockpit and cabin section got burnt. The aircraft was destroyed during the accident.
The Learjet was initially cleared for landing at Baramati airport on the morning of 28 January, following a go-around due to poor visibility. After receiving clearance, the aircraft did not provide a read-back to Air Traffic Control (ATC) and, moments later, burst into flames near the runway edge.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing the aircraft transmit: "Oh St ... Oh St..." before it crash-landed on the left side of the runway near the runway 11 threshold.
The aircraft crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop runway at Baramati airport.
The tail portion (Empennage) was the major airframe part which was recovered from the site and was located near the final impact point of the aircraft with ground.
Following the crash, both the flight recorders i.e. Solid-State Flight Data Recorders (SSFDR) and Solid-State Cockpit Voice Recorder (SSCVR) were found in their original location i.e. at the tail portion of the aircraft wreckage. Both the recorders were removed from the wreckage and were quarantined for data recovery and
further analysis.
