Regarding the plane crash of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that he was cleared for landing just one minute before the mid-size business jet carrying Ajit Pawar crashed at 8:44 am on Wednesday (January 28, 2026) and burst into flames. All five people on board the plane died in this plane crash.

The Civil Aviation Ministry shared the information quoting the statement of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) officer posted at Baramati Airport. The ministry said that Learjet-45 was advised to land in visual meteorological conditions. This means that the visibility on the runway was only so much that the pilot could use his discretion to operate the aircraft while maintaining distance from the ground and other aircraft.

What did the Civil Aviation Ministry say in the statement?

The statement said that the aircraft crew had sought information about wind direction and visibility. They were told that the air was calm and visibility was about 3,000 metres. After this the aircraft reported final approach to Runway 11, but the pilot of the aircraft was not able to see the runway. In the first attempt he started the go-around process. After the go-around, ATC asked the aircraft about its position, to which the pilot again informed that it was on final approach.

The ministry said that they were asked to inform about the visibility of the runway, to which the pilot replied that at the moment the runway is not visible, he will inform when it becomes visible. After a few seconds the pilot said that he could see the runway. Therefore, he was given permission to land the plane on Runway 11, but he did not confirm the landing clearance. After this, ATC saw flames at 8:44 am on the left side of Runway 11, where the debris of the plane had fallen.

What did the Civil Aviation Minister say about the accident?

Regarding the plane crash of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that I am very saddened by this incident. We used to get very good guidance from Ajit Dada. His demise is a big loss for entire Maharashtra. It is very difficult to find a leader like him.

He said that investigation into the accident has been started. AAIB & DGCA team has reached the spot. We will investigate this accident with complete transparency and responsible manner.

Regarding the incident, the Union Minister said that when Ajit Pawar’s plane was landing at 8:48 in the morning, the visibility was very low. His plane could not land the first time and when it wanted to land the second time, this incident happened.

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now in the court docket on allegations of not implementing safety rules regarding pilot fatigue. Delhi High Court can hear the contempt petition of Federation of Indian Pilots on 15 December. In the petition, DGCA has been seriously accused of deliberately disobeying the clear and binding orders of the court.

Claim of Federation of Indian Pilots FDTL rules not implemented

The Federation of Indian Pilots claims that non-proper implementation of flight and duty time limitation rules has directly affected the safety of passengers. According to the pilots organization, this negligence became the main reason for the aviation crisis that has been going on for the past one week, due to which big airlines like IndiGo had to face operational crisis and thousands of flights across the country were canceled or delayed.

Federation of Indian Pilots DGCA accused of

In the petition filed in the Delhi High Court, it has been said that the DGCA had assured the High Court this year that the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) 2024 would be implemented on time, but on the contrary, the airlines were given the freedom to relax the rules and extend the time. All this was done without the permission of the court, whereas it was promised that the rules would be fully implemented by November 1. FIP alleged that the FDTL framework prepared by the airlines does not match the standards on which the DGCA had agreed before the High Court in April 2025. This has been described as a direct disobedience of the court’s orders.

Pilots and crew present in sufficient numbers – Pilot Organization

The pilot organization has also completely rejected the claim of shortage of pilots in the Delhi High Court. It has been said in the petition that there are sufficient number of pilots and crew present in the sector, but the airlines are not putting them on duty at full capacity. Despite pilots being available for regular roster duties, they are being placed on flexible contracts with limited flying hours. During the hearing held last month, the High Court had allowed FIP to file additional documents and made it clear that if the orders are not followed, strict action can be taken for contempt.

Delhi High Court car Orders were given even before implementation of 2024

The Delhi High Court had earlier cleared the way for the implementation of CAR 2024 by disposing of the petitions of pilot organizations and directed the airlines to submit their FDTL plans to the DGCA within three weeks. The court had clearly said that ignoring the rules will not be accepted in future. The government had assured the court that the new FDTL rules would be implemented in a phased manner. At the same time, 15 provisions will be implemented from July 1, 2025 and the remaining 7 provisions will be implemented from November 1, 2025. Now DGCA will have to answer before the court on the implementation of these promises and orders.

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A meeting was held in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) with the top management of Indigo Airline on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) regarding the IndiGo crisis in India. In this meeting, along with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Ministry Secretary Sameer Sinha was also present. In the meeting, the ministry called Peter Elbers, CEO of Indigo Airline and took a complete update on the Indigo crisis from him.

Indigo’s internal irregularities like crew roster, flight schedule and poor information giving were the main issues discussed in the meeting. Apart from this, the status of the major inconvenience to the passengers was also known. At the same time, during the meeting, IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers was seen with folded hands in front of Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.

In the meeting, it was said by the company that 100% refund of the flights for which refunds were to be made till December, was completed. On which strict instructions have been given to complete the remaining refund and delivery of bags quickly. The ministry said that it is necessary to reduce IndiGo’s flights for some time so that operations can be stabilized and the number of canceled flights can be reduced.

Ministry gave orders to Indigo in the meeting

On behalf of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Indigo Airlines has been ordered to follow all the instructions like rules related to fare control and passenger convenience without any exception. Apart from this, Indigo was also ordered to cut 10% routes. Despite this, Indigo will cover all its destinations as before.

During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to Indigo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the inquiry and necessary actions are underway, another meeting with Indigo’s top management was held to… pic.twitter.com/yw9jt3dtLR

— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) December 9, 2025

The ministry said that we had said on Monday (December 8, 2025) that Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu can call Indigo Airline CEO Peter Elbers and meet the ministry on Tuesday (December 9, 2025). Now IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers will once again attend a separate meeting organized by DGCA tomorrow on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).

What did the company say in the meeting,

Ahead of the meeting in the ministry with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, IndiGo announced on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) that after the operational crisis of IndiGo that continued for more than a week, now all flights are operating normally again. Its on-time performance has returned to normal levels and the company plans to operate around 1,900 flights on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).

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IndiGo fined Rs 20 lakh: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the country’s largest airline IndiGo for alleged lapses in pilot training. The company said that it is considering challenging this order before the appellate authority.

This action of DGCA has come at a time when serious flaws came to light in the investigation of Indigo’s training records. The investigation revealed that the Full Flight Simulator (FFS) training of nearly 1,700 pilots, including pilots-in-command and first officers, was not certified for high-risk airports — such as Calicut, Leh and Kathmandu.

What is the whole matter?

These airports have been placed in the “high-risk category” because the weather, runway conditions and geographical conditions here are extremely challenging. For this reason, DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on IndiGo and has asked the company to improve the training process.

Indigo said in its information given to the stock market on Wednesday that it received a notice regarding the fine from DGCA on September 26. According to the regulator, this penalty has been imposed for alleged failure to use suitable simulators for training of pilots at Category ‘C’ airports.

Category ‘C’ airports are those places where access and operating conditions are challenging. DGCA says that Indigo failed to follow the training standards set for these airports.

Action has already been taken

The company said there was a delay in making this information public due to delays in internal communication. However, the airline clarified that this order will not have any impact on its financial position, operations or other activities. IndiGo said that it is committed to adhering to the highest standards of safety in the operation of its aircraft.

This is not the first time that DGCA has imposed fine on IndiGo. Even in the year 2023, the regulator had imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on the airline. At that time, a special audit had found many shortcomings in the operations, training and engineering departments of the company.

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Indigo flight bird hit: Indigo flight number 6E 5009 going from Patna to Delhi had to return to Patna on 9 July 2025 after the flight due to bird strike. An Indigo spokesman said that the flight has been canceled for the day due to security check and necessary repair.

According to media reports, IndiGo Airlines flight (6E 5009) flying from Patna’s Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport to Delhi on Wednesday morning fell victim to bird hit. There were 169 passengers on the flight. Soon after the accident, the aircraft was safely taken back to Patna Airport. Patna Airport Director Krishna Mohan Nehra confirmed that all passengers are safe.

Bird hit as soon as flying
The aircraft left Patna at 8:42 am, but collided with the bird soon after flying. Due to security reasons, the pilot immediately landed the aircraft back to Patna Airport. An airline official said that the aircraft has been grounded and alternative arrangements have been made for passengers. The officer gave this information on the condition of anonymity.

Rising activity of birds from butchers
Birds activity has increased due to the butchers located in Phulwari Sharif area near Patna Airport. The Airport Authority of India has warned the state government about this threat several times, but has not been resolved.

Patna Airport included 11 sensitive airports in the country
Patna Airport is counted among the 11 most sensitive airports in the country. The reason for this is the small runway and the surrounding obstacles. The Bihar government has requested the central government to send a team that can evaluate these obstacles and suggest solutions. In June, Bihar Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena wrote a letter in this regard to the Civil Aviation Ministry, but so far no response has been received from the Center.