- Two crew members uttered "oh s***" moments before the Learjet crashed in Baramati
- Five people died, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and two cockpit crew
- The aircraft crashed during its second landing attempt at Baramati airstrip around 8:45 am
Two cockpit crew in the plane that crashed in Maharashtra's Baramati were heard saying "oh s***" moments before the accident left five people dead, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Wednesday, an official has said.
Five people, including 66-year-old Pawar, his personal security officer and attendant, and two cockpit crew, pilot-in-command Sumit Kapur and first officer Shambhavi Pathak, were killed when a Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed during its second attempt to land at Baramati table-top airstrip around 8:45 am.
Narrating the chain of events, a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) privy to the matter said the "last words heard from the crew were "oh s***''.
He said that the ground control at Baramati is managed by pilot cadets from the town's two private aviation academies, Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation. So this was the point of contact for the pilots.
A specialised team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visited the crash site on Wednesday evening to initiate a forensic probe into the tragic accident.
Sequence Of Events Leading To Ajit Pawar's Plane Crash
A Civil Aviation Ministry statement outlined the sequence of events leading to Ajit Pawar's plane crash, including a potentially worrying point that the crew 'did not give readback of landing clearance'.
At 8.18 am, the plane, registered as VT-SSK, established contact with the Baramati airport.
At this time, Kapur, who had a flying experience of over 15,000 hours, and co-pilot Pathak, who had flown for about 1,500 hours, were advised of weather conditions and advised to land at their discretion.
The crew, the ministry's official statement said, asked about winds and visibility. They were then told visibility was around 3,000 metres, or three kilometres, which is considered fairly standard and enough to attempt a landing.
The aircraft then reported its final approach to Runway 11. Immediately afterwards, the pilot indicated the landing strip was 'not in sight' and was told to initiate a go-around, which is a standard operating procedure if an initial landing is aborted at any time till the plane comes to a full stop.
After the go-around, the crew was asked, again, about its position, and the pilot reported final approach. Confirmation the runway was now visible was asked and given.
The plane was then cleared to land at 8:43 am. However, there was no readback of landing clearance.
"Next, the ATC (Air Traffic Control) saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 8:44 am," the ministry said.
