Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s death in the Baramati plane crash has triggered difficult questions about aviation safety, regulatory timelines and whether a small administrative gap may have proved fatal. Emerging details suggest that the chartered Learjet carrying Pawar and four others was not equipped with GAGAN, a Made in India satellite-based navigation system, simply because it was registered 28 days before a key safety rule came into force.
A deadline missed, lives lost
The aircraft involved in the crash was a 16-year-old Learjet 45, registered in India on June 2, 2021. At that time, aviation rules did not require newly registered aircraft to be fitted with satellite-based approach systems. That changed on June 30, 2021, when a new regulation made such systems mandatory for all new registrations.
Because the jet entered the Indian registry just weeks earlier, it was legally exempt. While it met regulatory norms, experts now believe it may have been technologically behind at a critical moment, especially during a challenging landing attempt in poor visibility.
What is GAGAN and why it matters
Most large airports are equipped with the Instrument Landing System, a ground based technology that helps pilots land safely during fog, rain or haze. Smaller airports, however, often lack ILS because it is costly and complex to install.
To address this gap, India developed GAGAN, short for GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation. This satellite based system provides pilots with accurate vertical and lateral guidance during approach and landing, reducing dependence on visual cues.
For GAGAN to work, aircraft must be fitted with compatible avionics. Without that equipment on board, the system cannot be used, regardless of airport capability.
How Ajit Pawar’s aircraft missed out
Preliminary scrutiny of the Learjet’s documents indicates it was not equipped with GAGAN compliant avionics. Aviation experts say this meant the pilots likely lacked satellite guided approach capability during the final moments of the flight.
Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield, with no full time air traffic control tower and no Instrument Landing System. In such conditions, pilots rely on step down approaches, descending in stages and visually acquiring the runway at fixed points.
What GAGAN could have changed
In clear weather, step down approaches are routine. In fog or reduced visibility, they carry far greater risk. Experts believe that with GAGAN, the aircraft could have followed a stabilised satellite guided descent, offering a safer margin during landing.
As investigations continue, the tragedy has intensified calls to review whether older aircraft should be retrofitted with modern navigation systems, ensuring that narrow regulatory cut off dates never again decide matters of life and death.
