CCTV footage shows abrupt left roll before aeroplane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: The last seven seconds of CCTV footage recorded near Baramati airport provided a crucial new lead in the investigation into the Wednesday Learjet crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others. It shows the aircraft underwent an abrupt and pronounced left roll seconds before impact, shifting the focus away from low visibility during landing as the probable cause of the accident.The footage was captured by a fixed CCTV camera installed at the gram panchayat office in Gojubavi village, located at a distance from the runway. The camera was not positioned for aviation monitoring and had partial visual obstructions from buildings, trees and overhead cables.According to the time stamp on the footage, the aircraft entered the camera's field of view at 08:43:58, descending towards the runway. Two seconds later, at 08:44:00, the aircraft was seen undergoing an abrupt roll to the left, with the bank angle increasing suddenly to nearly 90 degrees, like the breakaway manoeuvre that fighter jets execute. The Learjet was in a near-vertical orientation as it continued its descent in an abnormal attitude.A second or two later, the aircraft disappeared from view due to obstructions along the CCTV camera's line of sight. At 08:44:05, a fireball soared up, indicating that the aircraft had impacted the ground. The short interval between the onset of the steep roll and the crash suggests that the loss of control occurred while the aircraft was still airborne and at low altitude. "The pilots had no time or altitude to recover and do a second go-around," said an A320 commander.Low visibility did set off the series of events that led to the accident, said senior pilots who analysed the footage. During final approach on runway 11, the crew reported to the Baramati air traffic control, manned by pilots of a flying training organisation, that the runway was not in sight and initiated a go-around, said a statement issued by the ministry of civil aviation on the day of the accident. During the second attempt too, they could not visually spot the runway, again indicating a visibility issue. "After a few seconds they reported runway is in sight and the aircraft was cleared to land," the statement said, adding that the pilot did not give a read-back of the landing clearance, as is the norm in the radio communications protocol.Officials familiar with the probe said the visuals are not consistent with a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) scenario, in which an aircraft under control impacts the ground due to factors such as poor visibility or navigation error. Instead, the footage shows that the wings were not straight and level in the final few seconds before the crash.Pilots attributed the reason for that sharp and abrupt roll to various possible factors. "It could be an engine failure leading to asymmetry and possible application of wrong rudder," said a senior pilot. Another pointed to a possible technical problem with control surfaces. "It's possible that they visually spotted the runway late, when they were well below the ‘decision height', and then they tried to align the aircraft to the runway to land, and the aircraft went out of control either because of too much correction or some other technical problem," said another commander.Ideally, if the runway is not in sight by the time the aircraft descends to the decision height, which is about 200 metres above ground, then a go-around or diversion should be the next course of action. "That is another aspect that the investigation will surely look into. Were the pilots under duress to make the landing?" said the commander.The CCTV recording was verified as authentic and confirmed to be captured by the Gojubavi gram panchayat office. The ministry statement made no mention of a mayday or distress call made by the flight crew, indicating that the sequence may have unfolded too rapidly to allow for radio communication. The footage is expected to play a key role in the ongoing investigation.