Baramati Plane Crash: The last conversation between flight attendant Pinky Mali and her father, Shivkumar Mali, has come to light following the tragic Baramati plane crash, which claimed the lives of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.
"Pappa, I am flying to Baramati tomorrow (Wednesday) with DCM Ajit Pawar. After I drop him off, I will go to Nanded and speak to you once I reach the hotel..." These were the words Pinky shared with her father, Shivkumar, a resident of Prabhadevi in Central Mumbai, during their last call on Tuesday evening
His voice filled with emotion and his eyes welling up, a distraught Shivkumar Mali said his daughter had promised to speak to him "tomorrow", but that moment will never come. His daughter, Pinky Mali, was among those killed in the Baramati plane crash that also claimed the life of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
"I spoke to her last evening, and she told me that she would be going to Baramati with Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and would then proceed to Nanded. I told her, 'Let us speak tomorrow after your duty.' But that tomorrow will never come," said Shivkumar, his eyes moist.
Pinky was an attendant on the Learjet 46, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, which crash-landed at Baramati airport. There were five people on board, including the crew members, according to the aviation regulator DGCA.
She had flown with the President, chief ministers, and several political leaders, Shivkumar said, adding that she was flying with Ajit Pawar for the fourth time, according to her father.
The father, who is also an activist of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that Pawar headed, said a local politician named Samadhan Sarvankar had informed him about Ajit Pawar's plane crash.
"I switched on the television. The news left me shocked," he said.
The father and daughter had last met on January 16, when Pinky visited Prabhadevi from Thane to cast her vote in the civic elections. Shivkumar said they spoke frequently.
Pinky had been working as a flight attendant for the past five years. She started with Air India and moved to private chartered flights after a couple of years, he said.
"During a recent flight with Ajit Pawar, my daughter complained to him that he was travelling across Maharashtra but was not paying attention to NCP activists. When Pawar asked her why she felt that way, Pinky told him, 'I have been an NCP worker for 35 years,'" Shivkumar said, adding that the interaction had prompted a call from the Deputy CM’s office.
"As I was driving, the call went unanswered. Then I received a message saying Pawar wanted to speak to me," he said. Even that call, he added, will never happen.
After learning about the accident, Shivkumar and his family rushed to Baramati.
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Ajit Pawar Plane Crash
The aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday morning after multiple attempts, but having finally received landing clearance it did not give any 'read-back' or response to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said earlier.
A statement by his ministry recounted the final minutes of the ill-fated Learjet 45 belonging to VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd that crashed, leading to the death of all five persons on board including Pawar.
Baramati has an 'uncontrolled airfield', and traffic information is provided by the instructors/pilots from the Flying training Organisations at Baramati.
The aircraft VI-SSK first came in contact at 8:18 am, as per the Baramati Air Traffic Control (ATC).
Its next call was at 30 nautical miles inbound to Baramati. It was advised to descend in "visual meteorological conditions" at the pilot's discretion.
The crew enquired about the winds and visibility, and were informed that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3,000 metres.
"The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843 IST (8:43 am). However, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance (did not respond to ATC). Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST (8:44 am)," the statement said.
The emergency services then rushed to the crash site, but it was too late.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken over the investigation. DG, AAIB is reaching the accident site for investigation.
( With Inputs from Agencies)