Ajit Pawar plane crash: Flight data reveals failed landing attempt

The aircraft involved in the Baramati crash attempted a visual approach to Runway 11 before aborting the landing, data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed on Wednesday.

Receivers operated by the flight-tracking website picked up a signal from the aircraft at 03:06 UTC or 08:36 IST, indicating it was flying at an altitude of about 2,500 feet, compared with the airfield elevation of roughly 2,000 feet.

Due to limited receiver coverage, the next available signal shows the aircraft aborting the landing attempt, Flightradar24 data indicates. The aircraft likely passed briefly over the runway before turning north, accelerating and climbing a few hundred feet to around 2,800 feet, consistent with a go-around manoeuvre.


The data further suggests that the aircraft then repositioned itself for what appeared to be another approach to Runway 11.

The last signal received from the aircraft was at 08:43 IST, placing it west-northwest of the runway, shortly before the crash.

Baramati airport does not appear to be equipped with an automatic weather observation system, limiting the availability of on-site meteorological data at the time of the incident.

The nearest airport issuing a valid METAR at the time was Navi Mumbai International Airport (VANM), located approximately 180 km (112 miles) from Baramati, reducing the usefulness of the data for local conditions.

The METAR from Mumbai around the time of the first approach, at 03:05 UTC (08:35 local), read:

VANM 280300Z 02006KT 1800 HZ NSC 21/16 Q1018 NOSIG

The report indicated reduced visibility of 1,800 metres due to haze, though aviation experts caution that such conditions may have been localised to Mumbai, a densely populated city with heavy traffic, and may not accurately reflect weather conditions at Baramati.