The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on Thursday that a preliminary report into the Learjet 45 crash at the Baramati Airport in Maharashtra—which killed former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others—will be made public in 30 days.
This comes a day after NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar ramped up the pressure on civil aviation minister K. Rammohan Naidu to step down from his post until the end of the probe into the Baramati crash that killed his uncle. Baramati MP Supriya Sule, who is from the same party, has also called for a "transparent inquiry" into the crash that killed her cousin, among four others.
Rohit has also alleged a conflict of interest: that Naidu (and his party, TDP) was close to the owners of VSR Ventures, which operated the fatal Learjet 45 flight on January 28.
Press note: Update on investigation into Learjet 45 (VT-SSK) accident at Baramati.@RamMNK @mohol_murlidhar @samirsinha69 @Pib_MoCA @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/0MxIhkpnvR
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) February 19, 2026
"Some former ministers from Maharashtra and top TDP ministers from Andhra Pradesh attended the wedding of Rohit Singh, son of VSR owner V.K. Singh," he said.
He has also welcomed the idea of a CBI probe into the crash which Sule, among others, has supported.
In its statement, the MoCA reiterated that the probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was "strictly in line with" India's Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025, as well as practices mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
"A Preliminary Report will be issued within 30 days of the occurrence, as per ICAO norms, and the Final Report will follow in due course," the statement read.
The statement added that data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR)—one of the Learjet 45's two independent flight recorders—had been successfully downloaded, while help has been sought in obtaining data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), which suffered thermal damage.
The MoCA statement added that a special audit of VSR Ventures, which operated the aircraft that crashed on January 28, was ongoing from February 4 onwards, and is expected to be completed soon.
This audit follows from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducting 51 regulatory audits of non-scheduled operators back in 2025, in addition to "multiple surveillances" of VSR Ventures. Findings from all of these have been "addressed and closed", it said.
"Further, Ministry has also asked DGCA to carry out special audits of other major non-scheduled operators and aerodromes engaged in VIP/VVIP operations. These audits are being conducted in phases and appropriate enforcement action will be taken wherever required," the MoCA added.
