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Ajit Pawar’s Learjet crash: What pilots' calls with ATC in Baramati reveal on visibility, landing clearance
Since Baramati is an uncontrolled airport, the ATC was being manned by pilot cadets from flying academies in Baramati, the government said.
After the deadly Learjet 45 crash in Maharashtra's Baramati led to the deaths of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others, the civil aviation ministry released details of calls between the pilots and the air traffic control (ATC) staff on ground. Since Baramati is an uncontrolled airport, the ATC was being manned by pilot cadets from flying academies in Baramati, the government said.
Details from the calls gave an insight into the exchange between the ATC and the pilots during the final moments of the plane before the deadly crash.
According to the civil aviation ministry release, contact was first established at 8:18 am on Wednesday morning. The next call came when the plane was 30 nautical miles inbound after being released by Pune approach.
“They were advised to descend in Visual Meteorological conditions at pilot's discretion,” the release said.
The multiple landing attempts
When they inquired about the winds and visibility before landing, the crew was told that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3,000 metres. However, the pilots couldn't spot the runway during their first landing attempt and initiated a go-around.
“After Go Around, the aircraft was asked about its position and crew reported on final approach of runway 11,” the release said. Before the second landing attempt, the crew was asked by the ATC if they could locate the runway, but they replied “runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight".
The ATC finally gave the plane a landing clearance at 8:43 am after the crew confirmed that the runway had been spotted. However, the release also said that there was no readback from the aircraft on the ATC clearance.
Also Read: Black box of charter plane that crashed, killing Ajit Pawar, recovered
Just a minute later, the ATC saw the plane go up in flames around the threshold of runway 11 and rushed an emergency team towards the crash site.
While there was no mention of the crew's last words in the government release, a senior DGCA official familiar with the details of the early assessments told HT: “The last words heard from the crew were ‘oh s***’…."
The deadly crash took place at the Baramati airport and apart from Ajit Pawar, his security officer Vidip Jadhav, pilot-in-command Captain Sumit Kapur, first officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak and flight attendant Pinky Mali, also died.
