The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others died in the plane crash, the civil aviation ministry said that ensuring a thorough, transparent and time-bound inquiry remains its top priority.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash that happened during the aircraft's second attempt to land at the Baramati tabletop air strip.
Key Points
- The Civil Aviation Ministry confirmed recovery of the Black Box from the Learjet 45 that crashed near Baramati.
- The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is conducting a time-bound investigation into the crash that killed Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others.
- The aircraft went down during its second landing attempt at Baramati airstrip, killing five people including the pilot and co-pilot.
On Thursday, Naidu wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking the state government's cooperation for expeditious conduct of the probe into the plane crash.
In a letter to the chief minister, Naidu sought the government's support for accessing the crash site, local administrative assistance and coordination with ground agencies, among other steps.
The civil aviation minister also said that the key outcomes of the investigation will be shared with the state government.
Earlier, Fadnavis had urged the minister to order a detailed inquiry to find out the exact cause of the crash and also requested immediate steps to prevent such accidents in the future.
In a statement, the ministry said that all requisite response and investigative mechanisms were activated immediately after the accident.
"The investigation is progressing expeditiously, and the black box of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered," the ministry said.
A black box is a small device that records information about an aircraft during its flight. It helps in the investigation of aviation accidents.
The ministry also said that it remains fully committed to completing the investigation within a defined timeframe in accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and laid-down guidelines.
Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier manufactures the Learjet 45.
"We, at Bombardier, are deeply saddened by this tragic event and extend our sincerest sympathies to all those affected. We cannot comment on the potential cause of this accident until the investigation is complete, and we will support investigation authorities, including with any recommendations if needed," a Bombardier spokesperson told PTI in an emailed statement.
Soon after the accident, a team of three officers from AAIB, Delhi, and another team of three officers from the DGCA, Mumbai Regional Office, reached the crash site on Wednesday.
AAIB is collecting evidence from the crash site.
The aircraft, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, was trying to land in poor visibility conditions when the crash happened. Baramati has an 'uncontrolled airfield' (which generally means it lacks a proper instrument landing system to guide aircraft during low-visibility operations), and traffic information is provided by the instructors/pilots from the Flying Training Organisations.
Pawar (66), along with four others, had taken off from Mumbai in the aircraft, which crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip at Baramati, his hometown.
Pilot-In-Command Sumit Kapur, Co-Pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant Pinky Mali and Pawar's Personal Security Officer Vidip Jadhav also died in the crash.
The last rites of Ajit Pawar were held with full state honours at Baramati in Pune district on Thursday.
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