Ajit Pawar plane crash: What is landing system instrument and how it could have averted the mishap?
Retired pilot Ehsan Khalid said he believes the runway couldn’t be a factor behind the crash, however, the landing system instrument could have guided the pilot in a proper way.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday killed after an aircraft carrying him crashed during landing in Baramati. Several political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, have expressed deep pain over the tragic incident.
The last rites of Ajit Pawar will be carried out with full state honour on Thursday in Baramati. PM Modi, Amit Shah and leaders across the political spectrum are expected to reach Pawar family’s bastion to pay their last respect.
The small chartered aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar departed from Mumbai at approximately 8 am. Around 45 minutes into the flight, the plane crashed while trying to land near Baramati airport. Along with Ajit Pawar, four other individuals were on board, and unfortunately, there were no survivors. Authorities are investigating the incident to determine whether the crash was due to a technical malfunction or other factors, and a detailed probe is currently underway to ascertain the cause.
However, aviation experts said the mishap could have been averted if the airport runway had been equipped with an instrument landing system to guide the pilot through marginal visibility.
Retired pilot Ehsan Khalid said he believes the runway couldn’t be a factor behind the crash, however, the landing system instrument could have guided the pilot in a proper way.
“Baramati airport has a small field runway, but it is sufficient for (aircraft like) Learjet to land. I do not think that the runway would contribute to this crash, as it happened before or outside the runway,” PTI quoted Khalid as saying.
"So, it is not the runway. (But) Yes, if the runway was equipped with ILS (instrument landing system) or other instrument systems that would guide the pilot properly during marginal visibility conditions, this (the crash) could have been avoided," the expert added.
What is landing system instrument and how it assists pilot during landing
An Instrument Landing System (ILS) is a radio navigation system at airports that helps aircraft land safely in poor visibility. It provides horizontal guidance through the localizer, which aligns the aircraft with the runway centerline, and vertical guidance through the glide slope, which guides the aircraft on the correct descent path.
Distance information is given by DME or markers. Pilots follow these signals on cockpit instruments to stay aligned and descend accurately until the runway is visible or a go-around is performed.
Khalid explained that, to his knowledge, Baramati airfield is not equipped with an instrument landing system. As a result, during poor visibility conditions, pilots must rely entirely on visual cues to align the aircraft with the runway and complete the landing.