The civil aviation ministry on Thursday responded to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s letter seeking details about the deadly private jet crash in Baramati that claimed the lives of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others a day earlier.
In its reply, the ministry said the aircraft’s black box has been recovered and secured for detailed analysis. It added that all technical records, operational data and evidence from the crash site are being examined to establish the sequence of events and factors that led to the accident.
The ministry also informed the chief minister that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a formal probe into the incident, assuring that the investigation will be conducted in a thorough, transparent and time-bound manner.
It said the government has taken note of the request to consider measures to prevent such accidents in the future.
The Learjet 45 crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport on Wednesday morning. Along with Ajit Pawar, those killed included his security officer Vidip Jadhav, pilot-in-command Captain Sumit Kapur, first officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
