Former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Captain (Retd) Ehsan Khalid stated that the fatal Baramati charter plane crash, which claimed the lives of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, could have resulted from a combination of factors, including adverse weather conditions, technical issues or pilot judgment error.
A chartered aircraft flying from Mumbai to Baramati crash-landed at around 8.45 am on Wednesday, killing all five people on board. The deceased included Ajit Pawar, his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two crew members, including pilot Vidip Jadhav.
Soon after, speculations began surfacing on the cause of the fatal crash. Addressing this, former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and friend of Vidip Jadhav, the deceased pilot of the plane, Captain (R) Ehsan Khalid, said Jadhav was a highly experienced aviator and cautioned against drawing premature conclusions before the investigation was completed.
“… It was a tragic incident. I have known the pilot since my Sahara days, almost two decades ago. He was an experienced pilot. I am told that as the plane was making its first approach, it had to go around and make a second approach. I do not know whether the first approach was abandoned and the missed approach was carried out due to bad weather visibility alone, or whether there were also technical issues with the aircraft. To my knowledge, no call of technical malfunction has been reported,” he said.
Elaborating on the weather conditions, Khalid said that while official reports described the visibility as marginal, the actual conditions experienced by the pilot could have been different, particularly given the limited navigational infrastructure at Baramati airfield, noting bad weather and technical issues or pilot judgment error as possible explanations.
Almost all planes now have weather warnings, autopilots, and instrument landing systems integrated. The pilots can utilise them. But when the pilots take manual control, 1-2 incidents happen which are beyond their control. The pilot training on stimulation needs to be improved so that they can take care of this,” he stated.
As part of the investigation into the crash, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) officials were present at the office of VSR Ventures Private Limited, which operates the ill-fated charter plane. The AAIB team was seen placing boxes of documents into vehicles.
Airframe and engine logbooks, work orders, on-board documents, and major inspection records related to the aircraft were gathered from the operator for scrutiny.
The probe team has also sought documents from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) related to the crew and the aircraft. Radar data recordings, CCTV footage, ATC recordings, and hotline communications will be obtained for further analysis.
