After Ajit Pawar's Plane Crash, DGCA Is Now Auditing Charter Flight Operators

New Delhi: On the day when NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar brought on explosive claims about the pilot of the Learjet 45 aircraft and the airline regulator, suggesting conspiracy in the plane crash that led to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar's death, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that it is auditing 14 charter flight operators as part of their safety oversight exercise.

The DGCA said that field inspections which started on Monday are currently underway, and the first phase of these inspections are expected to be completed by February 25.

The exercise labelled as “Special Safety Audit Plan 2026 – Phase 1”, was ordered on February 2, after the Learjet crash on January 28.

“Consequent to accident of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd Learjet 45 aircraft VT-SSK on 28 January 2026 at Baramati, the DGCA on Tuesday ordered a special safety audit of non-scheduled operators in a phased manner covering larger operators first, commenced from 4 February 2026 including M/s VSR Ventures,” the DGCA stated.

What Rohit Pawar Has Claimed

Rohit Pawar levelled a series of technical and operational claims that have raised sharp questions about the plane crash. Rohit Pawar claimed that the pilot was pressurised to make the landing, which led to the eventual crash. Pawar even claimed that the plots were swapped at the last minute. Rohit Pawar also claimed that he has proof that FTDL norms were violated and that the cockpit recording was shut off in the plane. 

The NCP (SP) leader also questioned why the airline regulator permitted the aircraft to operate when an European air safety authority had found it to be non-compliant. Rohit Pawar also showed the chats of VSR Aviation with Captain Sumit in which the company officials purportedly requested the pilot to be "sober" and not to perform any “stunt.”

Questions were also raised over the time difference in contact with the Air Traffic Control. Rohit Pawar said that according to PIB report, the time was mentioned 8:19 am, while as per DGCA. the time reported was 8:18 am. It was also claimed that the transponder inside the aircraft was switched off, which may be indicative of foul play.   

Rohit Pawar also questioned why the aircraft was allowed to fly by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) when the visibility was only 3 km amid foggy conditions, when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has clear guidelines that flights should not be allowed when visibility is 5 kms or more.

What Happened On January 28

Ajit Pawar as well as four other persons were killed in an aircraft crash near the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district. Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address a series of rallies in Pune, ahead of the February 5 zilla parishad elections. Captain Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali were also killed in the crash. 

The aircraft was reportedly cleared for landing in Baramati after a go-around due to poor visibility. However, after it received clearance to land, it did not give any read-back' to the ATC. In the next moment, the aircraft burst into flames.

ALSO READ: Pilot Pressurised to Make Forced Landing, Swapped at Last Minute: Rohit Pawar's Huge Claim on Ajit Pawar's Plane Crash