MUMBAI: The pilots of the aircraft that crashed at Baramati and killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had trouble spotting the runway while attempting to land, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The pilots couldn’t spot the runway during their first approach to land and so they did a go-around and came for a second attempt at landing. No Mayday call was given by the crew. The Learjet 45 business aircraft operated by Delhi-based company VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airfield killing all five persons on board, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The aircraft, registered VT-SSK, was operating a Mumbai–Baramati flight when the accident occurred at around 8.44 am. There were two crew members and three passengers on board. All occupants sustained fatal injuries, DGCA said.Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield where traffic services and information is provided by flying training organisations and not the Airports Authority of India. The aircraft first contacted Baramati at 8.18 am and later reported 30 nautical miles inbound after being released by Pune Approach. The crew was advised to descend in visual meteorological conditions at pilot’s discretion. Visibility was reported at around 3,000 metres with calm winds.The aircraft carried out a go-around on its first approach to Runway 11 after reporting that the runway was not in sight. “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.VSR Ventures is a non-scheduled operator with a fleet of 17 aircraft, including seven Learjet 45s. DGCA said the operator’s last regulatory audit in February 2025 did not result in any Level-I findings.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken over the investigation, and the Director General, AAIB, is proceeding to the accident site.This is the second accident involving VSR Ventures in Maharashtra in the last two and a half years. In the previous accident though there were no fatalities. The previous accident occured on 14 September 2023 at Mumbai and it involved VSR Ventures owned Lear jet 45XR aircraft VT-DBL. The aircraft was operating a nonscheduled passenger flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai and there were six passengers on board.
