New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded four planes in the fleet of VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd due to multiple violations revealed in a special safety audit conducted after the Learjet 45 crash in Mahrashtra’s Baramati on January 28 in which state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed, according to an statement issued by the regulator on Tuesday.

“Following the accident of LearJet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd on 28.01.2026 at Baramati, the DGCA ordered the special safety audit of the organisation. 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 DGCA statement said.

In view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures, the DGCA 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, the statement added.

Deficiency reporting forms have been issued to M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd in the mentioned areas to submit root cause analysis on the non-compliances for further assessment by the DGCA, the statement added.

The preliminary report on the Learjet 45 plane crash at Baramati will be released on or before February 28, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said on Sunday.

Talking to reporters at an event in Pune, Mohol said: “The preliminary report will be out before one month of the occurrence of the accident on January 28, which is on or before February 28.”

Ajit Pawar’s nephew and NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar had accused the private company that owned the aircraft of violating safety norms.

Rohit Pawar held several press conferences to flag what he claimed were irregularities connected to the firm that owned the aircraft and other technical anomalies. He has also raised doubts about foul play.

According to ICAO norms, the preliminary report on the investigation into the Learjet 45 (VT-SSK) crash at Baramati has to be issued within 30 days of the occurrence of the accident. The final report will follow in due course, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

The Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) investigation into the crash is technical and evidence-based, involving systematic examination of wreckage, operational and maintenance records and laboratory testing of components where required, the statement said.

The aircraft was equipped with two independent flight recorders. The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), manufactured by L3 Communications, has been successfully downloaded at the AAIB’s facility in New Delhi. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) sustained thermal damage. As it is manufactured by Honeywell, technical assistance has been sought from the State of Design/Manufacture, in line with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) rules.

During 2025, the DGCA conducted 51 regulatory audits of non-scheduled operators. Additionally, multiple surveillances of M/s VSR Ventures were carried out across areas such as flight safety systems, flight duty time limitations, maintenance compliance (CAR M and CAR 145), documentation and station facilities. All surveillance findings were addressed and closed, the statement said.

Following the accident, the Ministry asked the DGCA to conduct a special audit of VSR Ventures to conduct a comprehensive review of regulatory compliance, operational control systems, maintenance practices, crew training standards, safety management systems, and CVR/FDR monitoring.

–IANS

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