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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)

To avoid OBC backlash government forms new cabinet subcommittee

Mumbai: In order to avoid an OBC backlash in wake of the state government’s decisions regarding Maratha quota, a new cabinet subcommittee for the Other Backward Class (OBC) was formed on Wednesday.


There has been a widespread resentment among the OBC communities over the state government’s proactive decisions in in order to end the Maratha quota stir under Manoj Jarange-Patil in Mumbai. OBC leader Lakshman Hake, who had been opposing the demands of Maratha leaders to grant them blanket OBC status, tore off the copy of the GR that was read out at the Maratha agitation cite in Mumbai on Tuesday and then promulgate. A few other OBC leaders also expressed displeasure over the state government’s decision, while senior OBC leader in the state cabinet Chhagan Bhujbal today skipped the cabinet meeting. When asked about it, Bhujbal said he is studying the state government’s decisions regarding the demands raised by the Pro-Maratha Reservation groups. On this backdrop, the state cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, decided to form an empowered sub-committee of the state cabinet to decide on issues related to the OBC Community.


The proposal to form such a committee is old and was even presented before the state cabinet at least thrice before today. However, the cabinet approved the proposal to form such a committee today, said a senior CMO official.


According to the GR issued regarding formation of the committee, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule is the Chairman of the committee which has three members from the BJP viz. Ganesh Naik, Pankaja Munde and Atul Save, two from Shiv Sena, Gulabrao Patil and Sanjay Rathod and two from NCP viz. Chhagan Bhujbal and Dattatreya Bharne. When asked about Bhujbal skipping the cabinet meeting, water supply minister Gulabrao Patil said, if at all there is any resentment Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will speak to the minister and clear the air.


The eight-members sub-committee has been formed in order to dedicatedly work on issues related to the OBC communities in the state, the minister said.


Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde too made it clear that there is no need for any of the communities to misinterpret the state government’s decisions and that any doubts in this regard will be done away with.


Chief Minister Fadnavis, meanwhile, stated that he would soon meet the OBC leaders at Nagpur and do away with any of their reservations and doubts pertaining to the state government decisions.


OBC leader Manoj Sasane said that the state government’s decision regarding implementation of Hyderabad Gazetteer in Marathwada will be challenged in the court.

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