2023 Learjet 45 Mumbai Crash Final Report Never Submitted: Ajit Pawar’s Fatal Crash Reveals Big Aviation ‘Coverup’

Following the Baramati plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, it has come to light that the aircraft involved in the tragedy had earlier averted another big accident when it skid off the runway in Mumbai airport in 2023 amid low visibility. 

The Learjet 45XR aircraft bearing the registration number- VT-DBL, crash-landed at Mumbai Airport in heavy rain and low visibility. All eight occupants survived that event, though with injuries, and it involved runway excursion, cockpit warnings (including stall and EGPWS alerts), and fuselage breakup, but no fatalities.

New revelations have raised questions about serious delays in the investigation of the Learjet 45 accident at Mumbai Airport.

The final investigation report on the September 14, 2023, Learjet 45 accident (registration VT-DBL) at Mumbai Airport has not been filed or published by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), despite more than two years having passed. Only the preliminary report is available on the official AAIB website. In that report, the aircraft veered off Runway 27 during landing in heavy rain and reduced visibility, crash-landed on an unpaved area near a taxiway intersection, and the fuselage fractured into two segments. All six people on board survived with injuries.

The Aviation Minister recently confirmed that authorities are still working on the final report, which will be released after further consultations.

This has drawn renewed attention following yesterday's (January 28, 2026) fatal crash of another Learjet 45 (VT-SSK) operated by the same company (VSR Ventures) near Baramati Airport. In that incident, the aircraft veered to the left off the runway during a second landing attempt after a go-around, resulting in a fatal crash that killed all five on board, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Both crashes involved similar Learjet 45 models from the same operator and featured the aircraft suddenly veering off the runway during landing phases. However, the Baramati investigation is ongoing (black box recovered), and no official link or shared cause has been established yet between the two incidents.