Aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar had met with accident in 2023
MUMBAI: The Learjet 45 XR aircraft in which Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died on Wednesday had been involved in a crash earlier as well, making this the second accident linked to a VSR Ventures-owned jet in Maharashtra in the past two-and-a-half years, officials said.The aircraft, registered as VT-SSK, crashed near the Baramati runway at 8.48 am while attempting to land after taking off from Mumbai. Air traffic control sources said the jet burst into flames after the crash and there were no survivors.
Besides Pawar, four others — including two crew members and two personnel — were on board, a DGCA official said. Rescue and recovery operations were underway.Also read | ‘4-5 explosions in plane’: Eyewitness describes horrific scene at Baramati crash siteVSR Ventures had earlier faced a similar incident on September 14, 2023, when another Learjet 45 XR owned by the company, registered as VT-DBL, crash-landed at Mumbai airport. That aircraft was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Visakhapatnam and encountered heavy rain and poor visibility during landing.Officials said the jet drifted off Runway 27 during touchdown. Shortly after the autopilot was disengaged, the cockpit recorded a stall warning and terrain alerts, following which the aircraft crash-landed near the intersection of taxiways.Follow Ajit Pawar Plane Crash Live updatesThe fuselage split into two parts and a fire broke out, but all occupants were evacuated with injuries and no fatalities were reported.Investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of Wednesday’s crash in Baramati.
