Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has sought a “comprehensive, transparent and time-bound” probe into the Jan 28 Baramati accident that killed former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others. In a letter on March 6 to Union home minister Amit Shah, Fadnavis flagged concerns over safety oversight, crew deployment and discrepancies in flight data. He wrote that a representation from NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar had highlighted multiple issues requiring detailed examination during the ongoing investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
These include safety record of the operator, including a 2023 accident at Mumbai airport and regulatory observations made by foreign countries; flight crew deployment, including last-minute pilot changes and compliance with crew work and rest rules; aircraft maintenance, technical logs and airworthiness oversight; discrepancies in flight data, including air traffic control records, radar inputs, transponder loss and cockpit recordings; operational decisions during landing, including low visibility approach, runway choice, go-around and no diversion and finally adequacy of regulatory oversight and compliance with aviation safety norms.
