E-Paper
Ajit Pawar plane crash: DGCA grounds four aircraft of VSR after Baramati crash audit over safety lapses
The DGCA has also issued deficiency reporting forms to the operator, asking it to submit a root cause analysis of the lapses identified during the audit.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday grounded four aircraft operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd due to multiple violations discovered in a special safety audit conducted after the fatal Learjet 45 crash in Baramati on January 28 in which NCP leader Ajit Pawar was killed, officials aware of the matter said.
“The audit was ordered on February 2. It commenced on February 4 and was completed by February 16 after which the findings were analysed before a final decision was taken,” an official in the know of the development said.
Also Read: In the aftermath of Ajit Pawar's death, the rise of Rohit Pawar decoded
The audit team was led by RK Anand, Deputy Director General, and included Pathik Vaghela, Deputy Director (Air Safety); Sushil Malik, Deputy Director (Airworthiness); and Siva Kumar Jadala, Assistant Director (Air Safety). The team also had Capt. Apoorva Agarwal as senior flight operations inspector, SFOI (A) and Captain Lokesh Rampal as flight operations inspector (FOI).
The audit was conducted after the crash of the company’s Learjet 45 aircraft registered as VT-SSK killed five people, including the former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar. The jet was making a second attempt to land at the uncontrolled airport when it crashed.
“A multi-disciplinary team found several non-compliances in approved procedures related to airworthiness, flight operations, and safety,” a second official said, adding that the decision to ground the four aircraft was taken in view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures.
“Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registration VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV and VT-TRI have been immediately grounded till continued airworthiness standards are restored,” the officer said.
Also Read: Preliminary report of Ajit Pawar plane crash to be out on or before Feb 28, says Pune MP
DGCA has also issued deficiency reporting forms to the operator, asking it to submit a root cause analysis of the lapses identified during the audit.
“Deficiency reporting forms have been issued to VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd to submit root cause analysis on the non-compliances for further assessment by DGCA,” the second official said.
The move comes as part of increased scrutiny of charter operators following recent accidents, particularly after the Baramati crash with DGCA focusing on maintenance practices and compliance with safety procedures. It is currently conducting phase wise audits on all non scheduled operators in the country
According to records reviewed by HT, the jet, VT-SSK, was actively flying since at least the last week of December, operating charters to Mumbai, Goa (Mopa), Mangaluru, Delhi, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Pune, Surat and Juhu airport in Mumbai.
Rohit Pawar reacts
NCP (SP) MLA and Ajit Pawar's nephew, Rohit Pawar, welcomed the move and said that he has been repeatedly raising the issue against VSR operating aircraft in an extremely arbitrary and unsafe manner.
“We have been repeatedly raising the issue that VSR company is not following any compliances and is operating aircraft in an extremely arbitrary and unsafe manner. Today, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded four of VSR’s aircraft on the very same issue of non-compliance,” Pawar said on X.
He called the DGCA's move to ground VSR's aircraft only the “tip of the iceberg”, adding that he would speak on the issue on Wednesday.
“Although our struggle is beginning to see success, this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is still much more yet to come to light. I will speak in detail on this matter tomorrow morning,” he added.
