&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Missing a deadline by 28 days may have cost Ajit Pawar his life; What is GAGAN? The satellite system his Learjet didn't have")
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's death could have been avoided if only the charter plane he was travelling on, with four others, had been equipped with a Made in India, according to reports. Did the aircraft narrowly miss being fitted with a satellite-based safety system that could have helped the pilots land safely in poor visibility, simply because it was registered 28 days too early? Preliminary scrutiny of the jet’s paperwork suggests exactly that. Here's what we know.
A deadline missed, lives lost
The 16-year-old Learjet 45 involved in the tragic crash appears not to have been equipped with GAGAN, India’s satellite-based approach guidance system, because it was registered just weeks before a new regulatory mandate came into force. Legally, the aircraft was compliant. Technologically, it may have been behind.
What is GAGAN?
Most major airports use the Instrument Landing System, or ILS, a ground-based setup that guides aircraft down an invisible glide path during fog, rain, or haze.
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However, the ILS system is expensive and complex to install, so smaller regional airports like Baramati often do not have it. To fill that gap, India developed GAGAN, short for GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation.
Instead of ground-based antennas, GAGAN uses satellites to give pilots precise vertical and lateral guidance during approach and landing. However, there's a catch: for GAGAN to be installed, the aircraft itself must have compatible avionics. Without that hardware, GAGAN is useless.
How Ajit Pawar's plane missed out on GAGAN
Reports suggest that the Learjet that crashed in Baramati was registered in India on June 2, 2021. This means that it missed by mere 28 days a new system that could have potentially averted the plane crash.
On June 30, 2021, a new rule came into effect requiring all newly registered aircraft to be fitted with satellite-based navigation systems like GAGAN. But, because the jet carrying Pawar was registered 28 days earlier, it was exempt.
Aviation experts now believe it likely lacked satellite approach capability during Wednesday's low-visibility landing attempt.
What GAGAN could have changed
Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield. There is no full-time air traffic control tower guiding every movement. Without ILS or satellite procedures, pilots have to use step-down approaches. The aircraft descends in stages, and the crew must visually acquire the runway at specific points. In good weather, this is routine. In fog, it is risky. With GAGAN, the descent could've been done safely.
