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Black box of Ajit Pawar's plane recovered, govt vows 'thorough inquiry'
The aircraft - Bombardier Learjet 45 - carrying Ajit Pawar and four others, crashed while attempting to land at the Baramati airstrip near Pune on Wednesday.
The black box or cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the charter plan that crashed on Wednesday, killing Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, has been recovered, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said.
The aircraft - Bombardier Learjet 45 - carrying Pawar and four others, crashed while attempting to land at the Baramati airstrip near Pune. Track latest in Ajit Pawar plane crash here
It caught fire on impact and was completely gutted, making visual identification of the bodies impossible.
The ministry said on Thursday it remains fully committed to completing the investigation within a defined timeframe, strictly in accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and laid-down guidelines.
“A team of three officers from AAIB, Delhi, and another team of three officers from the DGCA, Mumbai Regional Office, reached the crash site on 28 January. The Director General, AAIB, also arrived at the site the same day. The investigation is progressing expeditiously, and the black box of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered,” the ministry said in its statement.
What is black box
Black boxes – cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder – are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that lead up to a plane crash.
They’re orange in color to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at deep into oceans. They’re usually installed a plane’s tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's website.
While the cause of the crash remains unknown and will be ascertained after a thorough probe, the civil aviation ministry said on Wednesday that the mid-size business jet, carrying Ajit Pawar, was cleared for landing a minute before it went down in flames at 8:44 am, HT earlier reported.
The plane was flown by captain Sumit Kapur (62) from Delhi’s Rajouri Garden and co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak (25) from Safdarjung Enclave. A flight attendant and a police head constable serving as his personal security officer (PSO) were also on board. There were no survivors.
The ministry said the Learjet 45 aircraft was advised to descend in visual meteorological conditions, or sufficient visibility to fly, maintaining visual separation from terrain and other aircraft, at the pilot’s discretion.
It added that the aircraft crew inquired about the winds and visibility. The crew was informed that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3,000 metres. “Next, the aircraft reported on the final approach of runway 11...the runway was not in sight to them. They initiated a go-around in the first approach,” the ministry said in a statement.
The aircraft was asked about its position after the go-around, and the crew reported on the final approach.
“They were asked to report runway in sight. They replied ‘runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight’. After a few seconds, they reported that the runway is in sight. The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11... however, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance,” the statement said.
“Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST.”
The aircraft wreckage fell on the left side of the runway.
