Ajit Pawar plane crash probe team visits Baramati again

Pune: A team from the DGCA and the AAIB on Wednesday visited Baramati as a part of the ongoing investigation into the Jan 28 Learjet plane crash in which former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed.A source said more such visits were likely. The joint team's visit came a day after NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar levelled serious allegations on the pilot-in-command of the ill-fated aircraft and VSR Ventures — the aviation company operating the plane. He demanded an international agency's probe into the accident.The source said the joint team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) collected information regarding the Baramati airstrip, besides checking the CCTV camera feeds. The team also visited the crash site to collect more relevant information related to the crash.Recently, a new video of the plane crash surfaced, showing the aircraft darting almost nose-down, hitting the ground and blowing up into a huge ball of fire.The source said, "Probe teams visited Baramati frequently after the crash as a part of the investigation to get all possible information to ensure that all angles related to the accident were covered and investigated. More visits can happen in the near future too."The day the joint team of the DGCA and the AAIB visited the crash site, Rohit wrote on X that the press conference scheduled for Feb 12 on political issues had been postponed. He said on Tuesday there were ample grounds to suspect the crash as a possible sabotage. He highlighted the drinking habit of the pilot-in-command and violations of flight duty norms, besides questioning if VSR was in a hurry to complete another flight.The Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) manages the Baramati airstrip, having a table-top runway. It is under the category of an uncontrolled airport.