Baramati plane crash exposes gap: India has 150 'uncontrolled' airports
What's the story
The plane crash near Baramati that claimed the lives of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others has exposed infrastructural gaps at India's lesser-known airstrips. These included basic navigation aids, a fire tender, and a functioning air traffic control service, all of which remain missing at the Baramati airport, HT reported. The Learjet 45 crashed while attempting to land at the local airport.
Airport category
Baramati airport's uncontrolled status and its implications
According to the civil aviation ministry, the Baramati airport is classified as "uncontrolled," meaning it doesn't have a dedicated ATC service. Currently, the ATC is manned by pilot cadets from local flying schools like Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation on alternate days. On the day of the crash, a flight instructor from Carver Aviation was in charge. This lack of professional oversight raises concerns about safety standards at such facilities.
Infrastructure issues
Baramati airport's infrastructure and safety concerns
The Baramati airport was constructed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in 1996 but sees only a handful of air traffic movements each week. It also lacks basic navigational aids like VOR (Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range) and PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator), which are crucial for safe landings. The runway is also narrow at 30 meters with a shallow hump that can confuse pilots during landing.
Safety gaps
Lack of fire tender and meteorological facility at Baramati airport
The airport also doesn't have an independent meteorological facility and depends on Pune airport for weather data. On the day of the crash, visibility was only 3,000 meters due to fog. Airport in-charge Shivaji Taware admitted that they had to call for more fire tenders from local councils after the crash, as they were understaffed. Only one fire tender from the Baramati Municipal Council was on standby ahead of the arrival of Pawar's plane on Wednesday.
Airport
150 uncontrolled airports in India
Captain Naufil Karnalkar, who learned to fly in Baramati, also confirmed that the visibility in the area was poor on Wednesday and suggested that the ATC there can be better managed. "The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has not done anything about smoothening the runway surface either," Karnalkar said. Another aviation expert, Mihir Bhagvati, said there are 150 such airports in India. "There are about 150 uncontrolled airports...They have a basic runway and no ATC tower or ATC frequency."
Upgrade efforts
Deputy CM Pawar's push for airport upgrades
Taware told HT that Deputy CM Pawar had been pushing for upgrades at the Baramati airport, including night landing facilities and regular ATC services. "He had asked for basic facilities like PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator -- a system of lights that provide visual guidance to the runway) and night landing and a regular ATC," Taware said. The Reliance Airport Developers had earlier managed the airport but were replaced by MADC due to management issues on August 19.