Ajit Pawar plane crash: DGCA orders safety audit after fatal accident

The DGCA has ordered a special safety audit of VSR Ventures after its Learjet 45 crashed in Baramati, killing five people including Ajit Pawar. The audit found significant non-compliances, leading to the immediate grounding of other company aircraft.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a special safety audit of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd following the fatal crash of a Learjet 45 (VT-SSK) at Baramati on January 28 that claimed five lives, including 66-year-old Ajit Pawar.

Pawar died on the morning of January 28 when the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) carrying him crash-landed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The aircraft went down near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board. Among the deceased were Pawar, his personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots. He was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections.

DGCA Audit Finds Major Lapses

"Following the accident of LearJet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd on 28.01.2026 at Baramati, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered the special safety audit of the organisation," an official statement read. The DGCA constituted a multi-disciplinary audit team that observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the organisation in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations.

Corrective Measures Initiated

"In view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures, it is decided to initiate corrective measures by immediately grounding Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registration VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI till continued airworthiness standards are restored," the DGCA said in its order. Deficiency reporting forms have been issued to M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd in the above-mentioned areas to submit root cause analysis on the non-compliances for further assessment by the DGCA, the statement added.

Preliminary Report Awaited

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said that the preliminary report into the plane crash that claimed the life of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will be released before February 28, reiterating that the probe is being conducted as per laid-down norms. (ANI)

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