Pune: The black box of the Learjet that crashed in Baramati has been recovered, and the investigation is proceeding expeditiously, the ministry of civil aviation said on Thursday, a day after the tragedy in which deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed.The black box, comprising the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), records technical flight parameters and cockpit audio providing critical information to the investigators. A source said, “It is being checked if the equipment and data were damaged in any way because of the fire. Data extraction generally takes some more time in such a situation.” A team of three officers from the Aircraft Accident Bureau, Delhi, and another team of three officers from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Mumbai regional office reached the crash site on Wednesday, the ministry added. On Wednesday, the Learjet operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures took off from Mumbai and crashed at 8.44 am just short of runway 11 of Baramati airport. The accident has drawn focus to the lack of ground-based navigation aids at the Baramati airport. The airport was transferred to the MADC (Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd) last year on instructions of the late deputy chief minister.While multiple calls and text messages sent to MADC vice-chairman-cum-managing director Swati Pandey went unanswered, sources told TOI that the govt resolution on the transfer of the facility to MADC came only in December. Before the facility went to the MADC, it was with the MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation). The Baramati airport does not have any commercial flight movements, but records movement of non-scheduled flight operations due to its proximity to the Pawar family. Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield, which means air traffic navigation services are provided by the instructors and pilots of a local flying training organisation and not the Airports Authority of India.Aviation sources said that flying on chartered rotor or fixed wing aircraft has increased by more than 100% compared to seven to eight years ago. “Heavy flying definitely puts pressure on the pilots, considering that they have to fly many times across less known terrains and runways. On average, jets are flying more than 100 hours a month against three hours to 40 hours a month some years back,” said Ishwarchandra Gulgule, MD, Kaigu Aviation, Pune.
