‘Oh s***’: Last words from cockpit as jet carrying Ajit Pawar fell

NEw new delhi/Pune : The pilots quick the gush with Maharashtra surrogate chief government minister Ajit Pawar on board informed ground control that they were not able to spot the Baramati airstrip, made a second landing attempt, confirmed that the runway was in sight and was cleared to touchdown, seconds before going up in a ball of flames, the civil aviation ministry said in a release on Wednesday.Captains Sumit Kapoor and Shambhavi Pathak did not respond to the air traffic control’s landing clearance message and crashed soon after, said the release, which detailed aircraft VT-SSK’s uneasy last few moments after a 33-minute flight. The release, which relays the air traffic control’s (ATC) account of the exchange, also raised questions about the conditions at Baramati and whether the pilots had a proper view of the narrow airstrip. Separately, experts also pointed out that the Baramati airport is categorised as “uncontrolled” – aviation parlance for smaller airports that have a basic runway, no ATC tower or ATC frequency. Ground control at Baramati is managed by pilot cadets from the town’s two private aviation academies – Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation.Also read: Ajit Pawar: A career of resilience, controversy and power“It is a standard protocol to go around when a pilot senses abnormalities during landing. They can perform a go around when they feel the situation is not conducive for safe landing,” a former AAI official said on anonymity. According to flight-tracking service FlightRadar24, the Learjet 45 aircraft took off from the Mumbai airport at 8.10am and headed southeast to Baramati. It made its first contact with the Baramati airport at 8.18am, said the release.FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft taking a largely linear path towards the town, rising to a peak altitude of 19,000m above sea level and holding that height for three minutes as it crossed the Western Ghats.Also read: Baramati mourns the leader who shaped the townThe eight-seater jet then begins to drop altitude over the next 20-odd minutes as it approached Baramati, showed the flight-tracking data. According to the release, the pilots then make contact with the ATC around 30 nautical miles (nm) short of the airport. This is when things appeared to have gone awry.ATC advised the flight to “descend in visual meteorological conditions at the pilot’s discretion”.Also read: ‘Papa, I am flying with Ajit Pawar': Cabin crew's last call with father before Baramati crashThe crew then asked about the winds and visibility. “They were informed that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3000 mts,” said the civil aviation ministry release.“A visibility for a fixed wing with 3,000 metres should not be an issue to land,” an industry insider said on anonymity.The aircraft then made contact with ATC during the final approach. However, the “runway was not in sight to them”, at which point the pilots appeared to have decided to go around and make a fresh attempt.The crew then returned to its initial position to the final approach. But once again, they replied that the runway was “currently not in sight”. “Will call when runway is in sight,” said the ministry release.After a few seconds, the cockpit relayed that the runway was in sight. At this point, the flight was cleared for landing.“The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843IST, however, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance,” said the ministry.“It is a standard practice to readback to the ATC, which acts like a confirmation to the instructions given to the pilot,” the AAI official cited above said.The aircraft is likely to have smashed into the ground, just short of the runway, to its left and erupted into a ball of flames.“Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST. The emergency services then rushed to the crash site,” said the release. “The wreckage of the aircraft is located on the left side of the runway abeam threshold R/W 11.”The plane crashed significantly short of the runway threshold but well within the airstrip perimeter, said a senior DGCA official familiar with the details of the early assessments of the crash. “There were no flames prior to touchdown,” said the person.“The last words heard from the crew were ‘oh s***’...,” the person added.Much of the plane was gutted, reduced to its bones, except the tail fin. Pieces of the aircraft were flung several metres away.A former bureaucrat, on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is too premature to comment on the cause of the crash but it appears to be combination of various issues, including bad weather.”The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has taken over the investigation.Residents living close to the crash site said the intensity of the fire and explosions left them with no chance to rescue anyone. “There were four to five loud explosions one after another,” one of the locals said, recalling thick black smoke filling the sky as the fire engulfed the plane.Residents near Baramati airport said the plane appeared unstable during its landing attempt. An eyewitness said it seemed to lose balance and tilt before crashing. This appeared to be borne out by CCTV footage from across the road leading to the airport. “The plane was moving in circles and then suddenly came down with a loud sound,” a woman from the area said.A man living near the airstrip said the plane first crossed the runway without landing. “After some time, it turned back and tried to land again, but crashed before reaching the runway,” he said.