Pawar, 66, was among five occupants of a chartered aircraft that went down on Wednesday morning, barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop runway at Baramati airport in Pune district
Pic/PTI
Police have lodged an accidental death report (ADR) following the aircraft crash in Baramati that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, officials said on Wednesday, reported news PTI.
Pawar, 66, was among five occupants of a chartered aircraft that went down on Wednesday morning, barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop runway at Baramati airport in Pune district.
“A case of accidental death has been registered at the Baramati taluka police station,” a senior officer from the Pune rural police confirmed, reported PTI.
ADR likely to be transferred to CID after AAIB findings
As per established protocol, the ADR will be transferred to the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which will carry out its inquiry based on the findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The AAIB, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has already assumed charge of the technical investigation into the crash, reported PTI.
A senior CID official said investigations involving the death of a prominent public figure in an accident are typically handled by the CID. “Formal orders are yet to be issued, but it is likely that the CID will be directed to probe the ADR registered by the local police,” the official told PTI.
Pawar was on way to Pune district meetings ahead of ZP polls
Ajit Pawar, who headed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had departed from Mumbai earlier in the day and was scheduled to address four public meetings in Pune district ahead of the February 5 Zilla Parishad elections.
Crew members and aide among four other victims
Those who lost their lives along with Pawar included pilot Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had logged over 15,000 flying hours, co-pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak with around 1,500 hours of experience, Pawar’s personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
Go-around due to poor visibility; no response after final clearance
In a statement, the government outlined the sequence of events leading up to the crash. The Learjet aircraft was initially forced to make a go-around due to poor visibility and was later cleared to land at Baramati. However, after the final clearance was issued, air traffic control did not receive any acknowledgment from the cockpit, and moments later the aircraft caught fire near the runway edge.
(With inputs from PTI)
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