Black box recovered from Ajit Pawar’s crashed jet, govt assures ‘thorough inquiry’

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the Bombardier Learjet 45 that crashed near the Baramati airstrip, killing Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others, have been recovered. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the recovery of the black box marks a crucial step in the investigation and reiterated its commitment to a time-bound and thorough probe.

The mid-size business jet went down while attempting to land at the Baramati airstrip near Pune on Wednesday morning. The aircraft caught fire upon impact and was completely gutted, making visual identification of the bodies impossible. All five occupants on board lost their lives in the accident.

According to the ministry, teams from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation reached the crash site on January 28, along with the Director General of AAIB. Officials said the investigation is progressing expeditiously and is being conducted strictly in line with established procedures and guidelines.

Preliminary details shared earlier indicated that the aircraft had been cleared for landing at 8:43 am, barely a minute before it crashed at around 8:44 am. The crew had reported difficulty in sighting the runway and initiated a go-around during the first approach. During the second approach, the runway was briefly reported to be in sight, but no readback of the landing clearance was received.

The ministry said air traffic control personnel subsequently observed flames near the threshold of Runway 11, with the wreckage later found on the left side of the runway. The cause of the crash remains unknown and will be determined after detailed analysis of the black box data and other technical evidence.