Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari claimed on Thursday that two pilots of Delhi-based air charter company VSR Ventures Private Ltd, namely Sahil Madan and Yash Kapoor, who were originally supposed to fly late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, are still missing.
“Where are the two pilots and why are they missing? We need answers. I agree with Ajit Pawar’s son Jay Pawar that black box cannot simply be destroyed because it is designed to survive more than 1100 degree Celsius fires after air accidents. It is also designed to survive even an extreme shock of 3,400 G as well as prolonged exposure to salt water in the deep sea for up to 30 days. So it is difficult to believe the claims of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) that the black box got burnt and hence data is not recoverable,” Amol Mitkari said.
“We are willing to wait until flight data is recovered, but until then, Maharashtra should be informed of the CCTV footage from the airport, details about the time and travel of pilots Sahil Madan, pilot Yash Kapoor, pilot Sumit Kapoor and pilot Shambhavi Pathak. We must know details when they left their homes, on which road they got stuck in traffic, as well as CCTV footage of those places besides the dates and schedules of all those pilots on January 28,” Amol Mitkari demanded.
“We don’t know if Ajit Dada’s air crash was an accident or if sabotage was involved. We know that black box of an aircraft is located near its tail. The reason for this is that when an aircraft crashes, it is often observed that the tail of the aircraft does not burn completely. That is why a black box is located at the tail of the aircraft. The tail of the crashed aircraft which flew Ajit Dada is completely intact. It has not burned at all. Therefore, the black box could not have been damaged. So how can anybody say that the black box of the crashed aircraft burnt and flight data cannot be recovered,” Amol Mitkari said.
“The revelations made by Rohit Pawar at yesterday’s press conference must be taken very seriously. The government must provide him with high security because he and his family are receiving threats to their lives. Rohit Pawar has already said he and his family have received threats,” Amol Mitkari said.
In a related development, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot who is on a visit to Maharashtra told media persons on Thursday that “There should be a time-bound, high-level, transparent inquiry into the air crash of late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to bring out the truth. Accidents happen but they raise questions about infrastructure,” Sachin Pilot said.