Police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others in Baramati in Pune district on January 28, an official said. The Pune Rural Police have registered ADR at the Baramati Taluka Police Station. According to the police, all aspects related to the accident are being investigated.
As per procedure, the ADR will be handed over to the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which will conduct a probe based on findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s inquiry.
66-year-old leader and four other persons on board a Learjet 45 aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at the Baramati airport in the morning.
AAIB team questions charter firm VSR Ventures officials
The AAIB, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has taken over the investigation into the crash.
The AAIB probe team has swung into action, with sources confirming that three officials visited the office of VSR Ventures and questioned the company's owner and other officials for nearly 90 minutes. During this time, detailed questions were asked of the company's owner and other officials.
It is pertinent to mention that the Learjet 45 involved in the crash was owned and operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, a Delhi-based private aviation company.
Officials said no conclusions have been drawn so far regarding the cause of the accident, and clarity is expected only after the investigating agencies submit their reports.
Bombardier issues official statement
Meanwhile, Bombardier, the manufacturer of the Learjet aircraft involved in the accident, has issued an official statement.
The company said: "We at Bombardier are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and extend our deepest condolences to all those affected. We cannot comment on the possible causes of this accident until the investigation is complete. We will fully cooperate with the investigating agencies and provide our recommendations as needed."
Pawar, who headed the NCP, had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 Zilla Parishad elections.
The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
The government released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Pawar's death. The aircraft, a Learjet, was cleared for landing in Baramati after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance, it did not give any read-back to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
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