Baramati crash fallout: DGCA grounds four VSR Ventures planes over safety lapses

The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered the grounding of four aircraft of VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd , after a special safety audit revealed multiple compliance failures. This comes in the aftermath of the fatal crash of a Learjet 45 near Baramati last month, which claimed the lives of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others .

VSR Ventures, a Delhi-based private aviation firm owned by Vijay Kumar Singh , with Rohit Singh as a key director, operates private jets, charter flights, and medical evacuation services across India.

The crash, involving aircraft VT-SSK on January 28, prompted the DGCA to conduct a multi-disciplinary safety audit of the company. The audit team identified several violations in areas of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations, including lapses in maintenance procedures and documentation.

"In view of the non-compliances observed and considering the gaps in maintenance procedures, it is decided to ground the Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registrations VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI until continued airworthiness standards are restored," the regulator said in a statement.

The DGCA has also issued deficiency reporting orders , requiring VSR Ventures to submit a detailed root-cause analysis of the lapses. The submissions will be reviewed before any further regulatory action is taken.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report on the crash by February 28, which may provide further insights into systemic issues. Meanwhile, some political circles have raised concerns about safety oversight and accountability in private aviation operations.