Ajit Pawar plane crash fallout: DGCA orders safety audit of non-scheduled operators

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a safety audit of non-scheduled flight operators in the country. The safety check exercise follows the crash of a chartered jet belonging to VSR Ventures in Maharashtra last month, which killed the state's deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others.

The special audit will be conducted in a phased manner, with large charter operators to be covered first, DGCA said on Tuesday. In the first phase, the audit will cover 14 operators including charter companies and corporates. The team has been asked to submit inspection reports within 10 days of audit completion. The sector regulator has also announced a separate safety audit of VSR Ventures.