Ajit Pawar plane crash: Black Box of Learjet 45 recovered, says Aviation Ministry

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said that the Black Box of the Learjet 45 that crashed near Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered. The plane crash in Baramati claimed the lives of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others. 

Black Box records information about an aircraft during its flights and is key to investigating aviation accidents. The ministry added that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) investigation into the crash is proceeding expeditiously. 

"The investigation is progressing expeditiously, and the Black Box of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered," the Ministry said in a post on X.

The AAIB is mandated to investigate all accidents and serious incidents involving aircraft with a gross weight of 2,250 kg and more or turbojet aircraft. On Wednesday, AAIB was asked to probe the plane crash.

Five people — including Pawar, his personal security officer and attendant, and the two cockpit crew members, pilot-in-command Sumit Kapur and first officer Shambhavi Pathak — were killed after a Learjet 45 aircraft operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd crashed during its second landing attempt at the Baramati table-top airstrip.

Emphasising that a “thorough, transparent and time-bound inquiry” is a top priority, the ministry said all necessary response and investigative mechanisms were activated immediately after the aircraft accident near Baramati.

A three-member team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Delhi, along with another three-member team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s Mumbai Regional Office, reached the crash site on January 28.

The ministry added that the Director General of the AAIB also arrived at the site the same day.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde condemned politics over the death of Pawar. Shinde said that the cause of the aircraft crash was still under investigation. 

He insisted that no one should spread canards or give a different colour to the incident. Shinde added that a thorough inquiry will be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of the plane crash. 

He said that the role of the airline company, relevant agencies, technical experts, the captain, or related officials will be investigated.