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Agency faces scrutiny as the final report on a 2023 runway excursion by the same operator involved in Ajit Pawar’s fatal crash remains ‘in process’ 28 months later
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash on Wednesday. (Image: PTI)
One final report is missing. Out of 123 “serious” aviation incidents recorded in India, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said it completed investigations into 108 cases and published 107 final investigation reports, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s last published Annual Report 2024-25. It was published in March 2025.
The lone completed investigation that has not resulted in a public final report, a senior officer confirmed, relates to the September 2023 Learjet runway excursion involving VSR Ventures, the same operator whose aircraft crashed at Baramati, killing Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and four others on Wednesday. The 2023 Learjet crash was categorised as a “serious” incident in the preliminary report by the AAIB. The final report for the VSR Venture-operated Learjet is still “in process”, News 18 has learnt.
That “missing” report has now acquired grave significance in the wake of the Baramati Learjet crash, placing the AAIB once again at the centre of public and regulatory scrutiny. More than two years later, AAIB has not released a final investigation report for that earlier crash, and there has been no clarification or statement issued for that. The issue already triggered a huge controversy as several allegations against the authorities were levelled. But the actual numbers now made the situation look even more grim than before.
Strong numbers, unanswered gaps
The same document stated that 88 final aircraft accident investigation reports were published by AAIB till December 31, 2024. It recorded that investigations into 91 aircraft accidents out of a total of 104 accidents have been completed, and 88 final reports were made public. The civil aviation ministry and the AAIB have their ways to categorise some crashes as “serious incidents” while some are termed as “aircraft accidents”.
According to a senior officer, a “serious” incident is an occurrence that affects safety but does not result in an accident, though it has a high probability of becoming one. It is essentially a “near-miss” where defences failed or were limited. While an aircraft accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft. It may include fatalities, structural damage, or loss of aircraft.
According to the civil aviation ministry’s published rule, under ICAO Annex 13, which India is obligated to follow, final accident investigation reports are expected to be completed within 12 months, barring exceptional circumstances. India’s own Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, empower AAIB to conduct investigations, forward final reports to the central government and ICAO, and issue safety recommendations.
Yet, the ministry’s own data shows a widening and unexplained gap between occurrences and closure. While the completion rate here is higher, the report does not explain why one completed investigation has still not resulted in a final public report.
The document further records that between January 1 and December 31, 2024, alone, AAIB ordered investigations into six accidents and eight serious incidents, indicating that the inflow of cases continues even as older investigations remain unresolved.
The unresolved 2023 Mumbai Learjet runway excursion is a case in point. AAIB’s preliminary report had confirmed recovery and analysis of flight data and onboard systems. Yet, over 28 months later, the final findings remain unpublished, even as another aircraft operated by the same company has been involved in a fatal crash. As investigators begin examining the Baramati tragedy, the question confronting India’s aviation safety system is not merely about determining the cause but about whether lessons from past crashes were learnt.
January 30, 2026, 22:05 IST
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