Ajit Pawar plane crash: Sequence of events show crew performed a go-around before the crash, visibility issues

The aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar struggled to land before its fateful crash on Wednesday morning. The crew had enquired about visibility and wind speed before attempting to land, and then performed a go-around. 

The statement by the Ministry of Civil Aviation that detailed the events leading up to the crash that killed all of the five individuals onboard said the crew had stated that the runway was not in sight before they confirmed that it was. 

Here’s the sequence of events leading up to the crash: 

• The aircraft VI-SSK, owned by VSR Ventures, first came in contact with Baramati at 8:18 am
• The next call was 30 NM inbound to Baramati
• They were released by Pune approach and advised to descend in Visual Meteorological conditions, indicating the pilots had sufficient visibility to fly
• The crew enquired about the winds and visibility, and were told that the winds were calm and visibility around 3,000 metre
• At the final approach of the runway, the crew said that the runway was not in sight
• They then initiated a go-around approach, which means they discontinued the landing approach and returned the flight to an altitude to make another safe approach
• After go-around, the crew was asked about its position, and they reported on the final approach of Runway 11
• They were asked to report the runway in sight. They replied, “Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight” 
• After a few seconds they said the runway was in sight
• The aircraft was cleared for landing on Runway 11 at 8:43 am, but they did not give a readback of the landing clearance
• The ATC then saw flames emanating from the threshold of Runway 11 at 8:44 am
• The emergency services promptly rushed to the crash site

The MoCA said that the AAIB has taken over the investigation. It added that Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield and the traffic information is provided by the instructors or pilot from the flying training organisation at Baramati, who recalled the sequence of events.