Ajit Pawar’s Bombardier Learjet 45 Had Also Crashed in 2023 - What Happened Back Then

New Delhi: The aircraft in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a crash on Wednesday morning had been involved in an earlier accident as well. In September 2023, the same private jet skidded off the runway and crashed while attempting to land at Mumbai airport amid heavy rain.Ajit Pawar and four others, including the pilot and a crew member, were killed when the aircraft crashed in Pune district near Baramati. The Learjet 45, owned and operated by VSR Ventures, had taken off from Mumbai around 8 am and went down roughly 45 minutes later after losing control during a landing attempt. The aircraft caught fire on impact, with visuals from the site showing mangled wreckage scattered across the area.Also Read: Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Dy

CM, Dead After Plane Crash Lands In BaramatiThe NCP leader was heading to Baramati to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections when the crash occurred.

September 2023 Crash

On 14 September 2023, M/s VSR Ventures owned Learjet 45XR aircraft VT-DBL was involved in an accident while landing at Mumbai Airport at approximately 11:32 UTC. The aircraft was operating a nonscheduled passenger flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai, under the command of a PIC (Pilot in Command, an ATPL holder) and a Co-pilot (a CPL holder). There were six passengers on board.According to a report by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, "The aircraft took off normally from Visakhapatnam and the flight en route was uneventful.""The aircraft established contact with Mumbai tower and was instructed to prepare for landing. The aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 27 and was given landing clearance at 113109 UTC. At the time of landing, Mumbai Airport was experiencing heavy rains and reduced visibility. The winds reported to the crew at the time of landing clearance was “WIND 140 DEGREES 7 KTS RWY27," the report added. At 113133 UTC, the crew had runway in sight and they decided to land on Runway 27. The aircraft continuously drifted right of the Runway 27 and moved towards Apron C. About 40 seconds after the autopilot was disconnected, Stick Shaker alert sounded in the cockpit accompanied by a Stall warning.Thereafter, EGPWS warnings were generated and the aircraft crash landed at the shoulder of the intersection of Taxiway W and Taxiway N. As a result, the aircraft's fuselage broke into two pieces andskidded, finally coming to a stop near the intersection of Taxiway U and Taxiway N on an unpaved area (near stand C80).Following the crash, a fire broke out and fire tenders rushed to the site and extinguished the fire. All occupants of the aircraft were evacuated, but they sustained various injuries due to the impact and wereimmediately admitted to the nearest hospital. Passengers and PIC were discharged after precautionary treatment. The co-pilot received serious injuries and was admitted for a longer time.

What Happened To The Aircraft?

As a result of the impact, the aircraft suffered complete destruction. Initially, it crash-landed on an unpaved area at the intersection of Taxiway W and Taxiway N, causing the fuselage to fracture into twosegments and skid, ultimately coming to a halt near an unpaved area close to the intersection of Taxiway U and Taxiway N, near stand C80. Broken parts of the aircraft were scattered along its path (Taxiway N)toward the final stop.During onsite inspection, it is observed that the Nose section of the aircraft sustained damage. The wing separated, and the forward section of the fuselage broke away from the central fuselage. Both the noselanding gear (NLG) and main landing gear (MLG) were broken. However, the empennage and both engines remained attached to the fuselage. There were scorch marks beneath the right-hand side of the engine.