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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Exit that shocked the nation

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, four others killed in plane crash; Probe begins into the reasons for the crash Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday. Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 zilla parishad elections. The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a...

Exit that shocked the nation

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, four others killed in plane crash; Probe begins into the reasons for the crash Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday. Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 zilla parishad elections. The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali. The government released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Pawar's death. The aircraft, a Learjet, was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday morning after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance it did not give any read-back' to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway. In aviation parlance, a go-around is a standard procedure where a pilot discontinues a landing attempt and initiates a climb to fly another approach. It is used when a landing cannot be completed safely due to factors like poor weather, an unstable approach, or traffic on the runway. It is a proactive safety measure rather than an emergency. In aviation, a readback is a crucial safety procedure where a pilot repeats back the essential parts of a message or instruction received from Air Traffic Control (ATC). It acts as a "closed-loop" communication system, ensuring that the controller's instructions were heard and understood correctly by the flight crew. The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told reporters in Pune. The statement by his ministry recounted the final minutes of the ill-fated Learjet 45 belonging to VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd that crashed, leading to the death of all five persons on board, including Pawar. Fatal Flight The ill-fated aircraft was a Bombardier Learjet 45, a twin-engine business jet commonly used for corporate and charter travel. Designed to carry between six and nine passengers, the Learjet 45 has a range of approximately 2,000 nautical miles and is powered by twin turbofan engines. The aircraft involved in the crash belonged to a charter operator and was being used for a non-scheduled private flight.According to preliminary information from aviation authorities and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sources, the aircraft encountered severe weather conditions while approaching Baramati. Dense fog enveloped the Pune–Baramati region at the time, drastically reducing visibility and complicating the landing procedure. Probe Begins A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has reached the Baramati crash site to launch a forensic probe into the VSR Venture's Learjet 45 aircraft accident. "The investigation team has reached the (crash) site. They are on the work," the AAIB official told PTI. The official, however, declined to share further details. Earlier in the day, AAIB, which has the mandate to investigate all accidents and serious incidents/incidents involving aircraft with a gross weight of 2,250 kg or turbojet aircraft, was handed the probe into the crash. The aircraft, bearing registration VT-SSK, was being operated by the Delhi-based non-scheduled operator VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd. The crew was advised to descend in visual meteorological conditions at the pilot's discretion, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in its statement. At that time, the winds were calm, and visibility was around 3,000 metres, it said. Baramati airfield does not have an instrumental landing system - a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to an aircraft, allowing it to approach a runway at night, during bad weather and poor visibility. Ajit Pawar's last rites will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 am. The Maharashtra government on Wednesday declared three days of state mourning across state till January 30 as a mark of respect to Ajit Pawar. The national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings where it is flown regularly. There will be no official entertainment during the mourning period. “Ajit's death was a big shock for Maharashtra, which has lost a hardworking and efficient leader. This loss is irreparable. Not all things are in our hands. A stand was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. But there is nothing like this. There is no politics in it. It was an accident. I request not to bring politics into it.” Sharad Pawar, President, NCP (SP)

Maratha agitation likely to escalate

Mumbai: The indefinite fast agitation of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil is likely to escalate and appears to last longer, even as the Bombay High Court, on Monday, gave directions to confine the protestors only to Azad maidan.


“I won’t leave Mumbai. You still have time… (to take the decision). The whole Maharashtra is preparing to come to Mumbai. Implement the demands or else there won’t be place even to stand in Mumbai,” Jarange-Patil said while issuing a warning to the state government. He also named Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and said, “I’m a peculiar character. My community won’t leave me. They can doom any party for me and your one mistake; a childish play can lead the country to pay a heavy price.”


Jarange’s supporters, meanwhile, started preparations on Monday to erect a huge pendol at Azad maidan which would accommodate 5,000 people and would protect them from the rains. Several trucks carrying meals for about 75,000 people too reached Azad Maidan from Parbhani on Monday. This is to ensure that none of the supporters of Jarange-Patil have to sleep empty stomach in Mumbai, the organisers said.


At the meeting of the cabinet sub-committee with CM Fadnavis and DCMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar on Monday, it was decided that the final resolution needs to be around the implementation of Hyderabad Gazetteer since Jarange-Patil has been consistently raising that demand. “We shall discuss the basic draft prepared by us with the Advocate General of the state and finalize it,” Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil the head of the cabinet sub-committee said.


Vikhe-Patil also made it clear that various court decisions have made it impossible to grant Kunbi status to all Marathas.


Journalists protest

Journalists’ associations in Mumbai expressed displeasure and registered protest with the organisers of Maratha quota stir over unruly behavior of some of the activists who allegedly misbehaved with some of the women reporters covering the agitation. The Mumbai Press Club and the TV Journalists Association (TVJA) issued strong representations, calling the incidents “unacceptable” and demanding urgent corrective action. They urged Jarange Patil to immediately enforce discipline, accountability, and safety measures within his protest movement. They also warned that unless urgent action is taken, media organisations in Mumbai may be forced into a coordinated boycott of the coverage of Jarange Patil’s hunger strike.

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