DGCA grounds select Learjet 40/45 aircraft after Ajit Pawar's plane crash

Following the crash of Ajit Pawar's plane on January 28, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted a special safety duty of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd., the organization that owned the aircraft under investigation. The audit team observed several non-compliances of safety measures and ordered grounding Learjet 40/45 aircraft with select registration tags 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 aviation watchdog said in a statement.

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In view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures, 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 agency has issued deficiency reporting forms 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.



Former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar died in a Learjet 45 crash near Baramati in late January following which, the aviation watchdog launched a special investigation in the matter.

Union minister of state for civil aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol had affirmed that the preliminary report on the plane crash in which NCP leader Ajit Pawar was killed will be out on or before February 28.

"The preliminary report will be out before one month (from the day of the incident) on or before February 28," Mohol told PTI. Pawar's death incident has been the subject of intense speculation with NCP (SP) MLA and Pawar's nephew Rohit Pawar holding several press conferences. The political leaders have claimed the presence of irregularities connected to the firm that owned the aircraft and other technical anomalies.

Earlier on February 19, the union civil aviation ministry had said a preliminary report will be made public within 30 days of the accident.