The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said it has grounded four aircraft operated by VSR Ventures after multiple safety lapses in airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations were found in a special audit.
The audit came in the backdrop of a Learjet 45 operated by VSR Ventures crashed on January 28, killing former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others near Baramat .
“Following the accident of LearJet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd on 28.01.2026 at Baramati, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered the special safety audit of the organisation. The multi-disciplinary audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the organisation in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations,” said a statement by the DGCA.
The grounded planes include Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registration VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI. This will continue till airworthiness standards are restored. “Deficiency reporting forms have been issued to M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd in above mentioned areas to submit root cause analysis on the non-compliances for further assessment by the DGCA,” added the statement.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will release its preliminary report into the crash by February 28.
