Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said the government is carrying out a detailed review of flight operations by non-scheduled operators (NSOPs) and the use of uncontrolled airfields to identify areas that may need regulatory or safety-related intervention.
His remarks came amid tighter scrutiny of NSOP operations after a fatal crash involving a Learjet 45 owned by VSR Ventures near Baramati on January 28, which killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The incident has prompted closer regulatory attention, and earlier this month the Directorate General of Civil Aviation launched a special safety audit of NSOPs, TNIE reported.
Naidu told PTI that the ministry is examining how NSOPs operate as well as the functioning of uncontrolled airfields, and that gaps requiring action would be identified. The crash occurred near the Baramati airfield, which is classified as an uncontrolled aerodrome. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is expected to release a preliminary report on the accident shortly.
NSOPs typically refer to operators that do not run flights on fixed schedules and mainly provide charter services. Baramati functions as an uncontrolled airfield, where flight information is shared by instructors or pilots from local flying training organisations. As explained by SKYbrary, an uncontrolled aerodrome is one that does not have an operational control tower, or where the tower is not in service.
In a statement issued on the day of the crash, the ministry said the aircraft had been cleared to land on runway 11 but did not read back the landing clearance. It added that flames were later seen near the runway threshold, after which emergency services were sent to the site.