Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar continued his attack on VSR Ventures and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over the plane crash that claimed the life of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. On Wednesday, he alleged inconsistencies in the initial report issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), questioning its intent and credibility. Rohit claimed that although there were no trees in the vicinity of Baramati Airport, the report stated that the plane hit the trees.
He showed pictures of the plane’s black box, which was allegedly from the crashed plane, stressing that it appeared intact. According to him, DGCA Deputy Director Ramachandran signed a document at Baramati police station stating that the black box was intact. He said the same DGCA now claims the black box was damaged, and suspects cover-ups and attempts to manipulate the investigation to protect VSR Ventures and the interests of influential individuals who invested in the charter operator.
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To confirm this claim, Rohit pointed out that the plane’s black box was replaced in 2021, indicating that it is equipped with the latest technology. He wondered whether DGCA officials were trying to protect VSR Ventures from scrutiny by watering down evidence. Suspecting a pre-planned conspiracy, locals allegedly reported reconnaissance of Baramati airport by a few individuals before the plane crash and this needs to be investigated by investigating agencies.
He pointed out, “The AAIB report stated that the plane hit trees but there were no trees in the vicinity except for some bushes far from the scene of the accident. The plane did not even touch them. The observation they made is completely wrong.” He asked: “The report claims that the plane veered to the right, but the footage clearly shows that it veered to the left. If they can’t even correctly determine the direction of the fall, how can we trust the rest of the report.”
The office’s initial report was released on February 28, a month after a Learjet 45 owned by VSR Ventures crashed in Baramati on January 28, killing all five individuals on board.
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The DGCA has already said that both components of the plane’s black box – the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) – suffered thermal damage after the accident. Rohit, who is also Ajit Pawar’s nephew, disputed the claim and said they were expecting pictures of the black box along with the AAIB’s initial report but that did not happen.
He claimed that the black boxes of the planes involved in the crashes were found unharmed, referring to the Ahmedabad plane crash, the Tejas plane crash in Dubai, and the crash of another Learjet plane in the United States. “Moreover, DGCA Deputy Director Ramachandran also signed a document at Paramai police station stating that the black box is safe,” Rohit confirmed, showing pictures of the black box allegedly from Ajit Pawar’s plane crash. He added: “From these pictures, I cannot tell whether the black box has suffered real damage.”
Rohit then revealed that the black box that was allegedly damaged was replaced only in May 2021. “This means it was manufactured with the latest technology even though the aircraft is 16 years old, so there is no possibility of it getting damaged like this,” he stressed.
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“In this case, the other possibility is that they may not have replaced the old black box, which if revealed would land DGCA officials in trouble, hence they are claiming that the black box was damaged and the AAIB report was tampered with.”
This can be proven by comparing the numbers of old and new models with the manufacturing company – Honeywell.
He further said that the report seemed to validate many of his earlier claims, including the allegation that the aircraft had exceeded its permissible usage by 3,000 flight hours, reduced visibility at Baramati, excess fuel being refilled in the aircraft, and Ajit Pawar was not scheduled to travel on that day, among others.
