The Directorate General of Civil Aviation grounded four Learjet 40/45 aircraft of VSR Ventures after a safety audit flagged non-compliance in airworthiness and operations.
The action follows the January 28 crash of a Learjet 45 near Baramati that killed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is expected to release a preliminary report by February 28 as investigations continue.
DGCA Grounds 4 VSR Aircraft After Baramati Crash
Audit flags compliance lapses following fatal Learjet accident
Summary
The aviation regulator, DGCA, ordered the grounding of four VSR Ventures aircraft on Tuesday after discovering multiple violations. Last month, the company's jet crashed in Baramati, killing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other people.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation mandated a special safety audit of VSR Ventures after the January 28 crash of the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK).
The multi-disciplinary audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the organisation in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations, the regulator said in a statement.
"In view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures, it is decided to initiate the corrective measures by immediately grounding Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registration VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI till continued airworthiness standards are restored," it said.
Additionally, according to DGCA, VSR Ventures in the relevant areas have been given deficiency reporting forms to submit root cause analyses of the non-compliances. Before moving forward, the watchdog would evaluate the submissions.
On January 28, Pawar and four other people perished in the crash of a VSR Ventures-owned Learjet 45 aircraft in Baramati.
While the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to come out with its preliminary report into the fatal crash before February 28, concerns have been raised in certain quarters claiming there could have been a conspiracy that led to the crash.
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