What Was Last Message of Ill-Fated Plane Carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar to ATC?

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar was killed on Wednesday after a chartered aircraft flying from Mumbai crashed near Baramati while attempting to land. Footage obtained right when the crash happened shows smoke rising from scattered wreckage, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirming that all five passengers and the captain have died in the crash. The aviation body has now revealed the captain's last message to the Air Traffic Control (ATC).

What the captain told ATC

In the final moments before the crash, the crew told ATC that visibility was poor and the runway was “not in sight” during the approach, according to a DGCA. The aircraft, a Learjet 45 (LJ45), then initiated a go-around, which is an aborted landing attempt, after reporting the runway was not visible, the same account said. The plane was attempting a visual landing in dense fog when it lost balance at low altitude, struck the ground before the runway, and blasted into flames.

What Baramati ATC said

According to a memo released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the aircraft, operated by a firm called VSR Ventures, made first contact with the Baramati ATC at 8:18 am IST, followed by a call for landing approvals after it was released by the Pune ATC. The crew inquired about the “winds and visibility,” to which the ATC responded with favourable conditions, saying “the winds were calm and visibility was around 300 metres.”

After an interval, the crew reported the flight was headed to runway 11, but it was not in sight, compelling a go-around in the first approach. After the go-around was completed, the crew was asked about their position, to which the pilot reported on the final approach of runway 11. But the runway remained invisible, with the crew mentioning that “runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight.”

However, the ATC has claimed the crew later confirmed the runway was in sight, prompting it to give the aircraft clearance to land on runway 11 at 8:43 am IST. But the aircraft did not respond to the clearance, and the next thing the ATC saw was a cloud of fumes and flames around the threshold of runway 11. The emergency services were immediately rushed to the crash site.

Why the last message matters

Investigators typically use the final ATC exchanges to reconstruct what the pilots were seeing or not seeing and whether conditions forced a last-minute change in approach. In this case, the last message, low visibility and the runway not in sight put weather and approach conditions at the centre of early scrutiny, a part of a thorough investigation launched by the DGCA.

Who all were on board

DGCA has confirmed the passengers who were on board the private jet that crashed in Baramati.

— Ajit Pawar

— Vidip Jadhav

— Sumit Kapoor

— Pinki Mali

— Shambhavi Malik

The aircraft pilot, Captain Sahil Madaan, was also killed in the crash.

Read more: Terrifying Final Seconds As Ajit Pawar’s Learjet Nosedives And Bursts Into Flames Near Baramati Runway