MUMBAI: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday said there were grounds to suspect sabotage in the Learjet crash that killed his uncle and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar last month.Raising doubts about the independence of the ongoing investigation, Pawar said the govt should involve a foreign accident investigating agency from a country like the US, the UK or France to ensure a fair and independent investigation.In the press conference that lasted over 90 minutes, Pawar presented slides levying serious allegations against VSR Ventures, the charter company whose Learjet crashed in Baramati on Jan 28, the pilot-in-command, and Arrow, the company that contracted VSR to do the flight. Pawar said he gathered information from former employees of the charter company and found that the company violated several safety norms.“The investigating agency should look at the maintenance records of this company because what I learned is that they do not follow the maintenance schedules mandated by the manufacturer,” he said.Speaking about the pilots’ decision to make a landing despite the poor visibility, Pawar said that the Learjet was lined up for other flights. “It was supposed to fly from Baramati to Shamshabad to pick up another passenger and fly him to Patna and then return later at night. Were the pilots in a hurry or under pressure to make the landing at Baramati so that they can then operate the next flight?” he said, showing a WhatsApp picture that carried details of the flight schedule for the day.Speaking about the deceased commander, Pawar said he failed the pre-flight breathalyser test twice in the past few decades during his stints with airlines and was under suspension for three years. He showed pictures taken from a WhatsApp group chat in which the owner of VSR Ventures reprimanded his pilots, including the deceased commander, over their drinking habits.In one of the messages, Capt V K Singh, the owner, had informed the deceased commander about a departure from Mumbai at 10 pm. “Pls Be SOBER & DO NOT DO Yr Evng STUNTS AND LET ME DIWN AGAIN (sic).” In response to the message, the deceased commander wrote: “Copied Sir”.Pawar alleged that the charter company was involved in illegal practices like carrying 50 litre cans of fuel on board to refuel at the remote destination and cut costs, and that it violated pilot duty and rest norms. He said the charter company wielded influence within aviation regulatory circles and asked why its licence was not cancelled despite two crashes in over two years, including a previous crash involving one of its aircraft in 2023. The company continued to be used by senior politicians, the MLA said.A case of accidental death registered by the Pune rural police has since been transferred to the CID. Pawar said the CID lacked the technical expertise required for an aviation accident investigation.Responding to the allegations, Capt VK Singh said: “It was a very unfortunate accident. The visibility was definitely low and the pilots could have diverted. The aircraft was airworthy.”
