The aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was cleared to land at Baramati at 8.43 am but gave no read-back or response to ATC before crashing moments later.
The Learjet 45 was attempting to land amid poor visibility, had already made one go-around after failing to sight the runway.
All five onboard were killed; the AAIB has taken over the probe as emergency services reached the site after the aircraft caught fire near the runway threshold.
Ajit Pawar Crash Video: Plane Cleared To Land, Lost Contact With ATC
Learjet failed to respond after landing clearance, burst into flames at Baramati runway
Summary
After several attempts, the aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was finally given the go-ahead to land in Baramati on Wednesday morning. However, it did not respond to the ATC or provide a "read-back," and moments later, it burst into flames on the runway's edge.
Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu had earlier stated that the plane was attempting to land in poor visibility. A 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.
PTI shared a video, alleged to be CCTV footage of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's plane crash. Ajit Pawar was killed in the plane crash near Baramati, along with four others on board. The new video, alleged to be a CCTV clip from a nearby area of the crash site, shows the plane turning into a ball of flame upon impact with the ground.
The instructors and pilots from the Flying Training Organisations at Baramati provide traffic information on the "uncontrolled airfield" in Baramati.
According to Baramati Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft VI-SSK initially made contact at 8.18 am.
Its next call was at 30 nautical miles inbound to Baramati. The pilot was instructed to descend in "visual meteorological conditions" at their own discretion.
When the team asked about the visibility and wind conditions, they were told that the visibility was about 3,000 meters and the winds were calm.
"Next, the aircraft reported on the final approach of Runway 11 and the runway was not in sight to them. They initiated a go-around in the first approach," the civil aviation ministry statement said.
After the go-around, the crew was again asked if they could spot the runway.
The reply was: "Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight".
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After a few seconds, the crew reported that they could spot the runway.
"The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843 IST (8.43 am). However, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance (did not respond to ATC). Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST (8.44 am)," the statement said.
When the emergency services arrived at the scene of the collision, it was already too late.
The inquiry has been taken over by the Aircraft Accident Inquiry Bureau (AAIB). According to the statement, DG and AAIB are on their way to the accident scene to conduct an investigation.
With Permit No. 07/2014, the aircraft carrier was a Non-Scheduled Operator (NSOP).
Its fleet of five Embraer 135BJ aircraft, four King Air B200 aircraft, one Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, and seven Learjet 45 aircraft, including the one that crashed.
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The last regulatory audit of the aircraft carrying Pawar was carried out by DGCA in February 2025, and "no level-I findings were issued", the statement said.
The aircraft was manufactured in 2010. The C of A (certificate of airworthiness) was issued on December 16, 2021. The CofR (Certificate of Registration) was issued on December 27, 2022. The ARC (airworthiness review certificate) was issued on September 10, 2025, and was valid until September 14, 2026.
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