Ajit Pawar's death: Multiple aspects of Baramati plane crash raise apprehensions, says NCP

MUMBAI: Sunetra Pawar, accompanied by her elder son Parth Pawar and others, handed over a letter to the chief minister seeking a CBI probe into the Baramati air crash in which Ajit Pawar and four others were killed on January 28. In the letter, the NCP stated, “Multiple aspects surrounding the incident give rise to legitimate apprehensions, requiring investigation by an independent central agency.

”Among the “substantial questions” raised, the letter said, were the reported lastminute changes in flight crew composition which requires scrutiny of operational decision-making and authorisation, apparent anomalies concerning Air Traffic Control communications and sequencing of runway clearances, concerns regarding the functioning and integrity of critical onboard safety warning systems, absence of any recorded distress communication despite proximity to landing phase, and matters requiring forensic evaluation, including crew fitness, maintenance compliance, and aircraft systems.The party said that since the probe into the incident involves complex aviation, forensic, electronic, and operational aspects, the CBI’s investigative powers, technical expertise, and interstate jurisdiction make it the most suitable agency to conduct a thorough inquiry.The letter added that a CBI investigation would help reinforce public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process and ensure that every aspect of the case is examined comprehensively.

NCP highlighted that the nature of the incident transcends an ordinary accident and directly engages public confidence in aviation safety, regulatory oversight, and institutional accountability.The NCP legislature party is fully behind Sunetra Pawar and there is no dissent, Tatkare said.He said BJP state chief Ravindra Chavan met him at the NCP office and discussed the way forward for the Mahayuti alliance after its victory in the zilla parishad polls.

He also said incidents such as bribery in NCP minister Narhari Zirwal’s office malign the image of govt and ministers.The cockpit voice recorder (CVR), manufactured by Honeywell, is undergoing detailed technical examination. Assistance has been sought from the accredited representative of the state of manufacture for specialised support in data retrieval,” AAIB said.The CVR records the conversation between pilots, radio communications with the air traffic controller and ambient noises in the cockpit.

“Both recorders were exposed to intense heat for a prolonged period during the accident and sustained fire damage,” it said.Help sought for CVR data as black boxes damagedThe two independent black boxes of the Learjet aircraft that crashed at Baramati airport, killing deputy CM Ajit Pawar, have sustained fire damage, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said on Tuesday. It said the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), manufactured by L3-Communications, was successfully downloaded at the AAIB Flight Recorder Laboratory, but specialised support from the manufacturer has been sought to retrieve data from one of the recorders, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The DFDR records technical parameters of the flight, such as aircraft speed, altitude and heading.