Month after Ajit Pawar plane crash, AAIB submits interim probe report; here are some of the key findings

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 othersThe report it said was prepared based on the preliminary factual information and evidences collected during the initial stages of investigationThe 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 reportIn its 22page preliminary report the AAIB stated that all aspects of the crash would be investigated to determine the facts root causes and contributory factorsThe AAIB highlighted the urgency of the following interim safety measures to prevent similar incidentsThe 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 proceduresOperators conducting VFR flights to uncontrolled airfields must strictly follow laiddown standard operating procedures the report suggestsIt said that Directions should be issued to all aerodrome operators to ensure flying operations including nonscheduled private and charter flights occur only when meteorological conditions comply with DGCA regulationsUncontrolled airfield and VIP flightsThe AAIB has highlighted the faded runway markings in its reportThe 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 Copilot had prior experience of operating number of VIP flights and other flights to uncontrolled airfield Including BaramatiThe Baramati Airfield is an uncontrolled airfield which is managed and maintained by the Aerodrome Operator ie Ms 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 ie Ms Carver Aviation Pvt Ltd and Ms Redbird Flying Training Academy Pvt Ltd However Nonscheduled operations especially CharteredVIP flights are also being carried out at Baramati regularlyFaded Runway Markings at Runway11 end PicAttached in the reportThere are two temporary ATC towers each being operated and maintained by respective organisations The ATC is being handled by the respective StudentsInstructors of the FTOs with hand held RT which again is primarily used for assisting the flying training operations However the NonScheduledchartered flights including VIP flights are also handled by either of the two towers manned by their instructorsstudents only it statedWeather informationAccording 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 Ms 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 operationsOn 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 VTSSK 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 statedWreckage and impactAs 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 terrainLanding gear and Airframe Fuel Filter towards left PicAttached in the reportThe 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 accidentCircumstances of the crashThe Learjet was initially cleared for landing at Baramati airport on the morning of 28 January following a goaround due to poor visibility After receiving clearance the aircraft did not provide a readback to Air Traffic Control ATC and moments later burst into flames near the runway edgeEyewitnesses reported hearing the aircraft transmit Oh St Oh St before it crashlanded on the left side of the runway near the runway 11 thresholdThe aircraft crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop runway at Baramati airportThe crashThe 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 groundFollowing the crash both the flight recorders ie SolidState Flight Data Recorders SSFDR and SolidState Cockpit Voice Recorder SSCVR were found in their original location ie at the tail portion of the aircraft wreckage Both the recorders were removed from the wreckage and were quarantined for data recovery andfurther analysis