The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has grounded four LearJet aircraft of VSR Ventures and initiated a slew of measures including mandatory disclosures and safety ranking of charter operators.
These actions come in the wake of the LearJet crash in Baramati last month which killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
A safety audit was ordered of VSR Ventures following the accident and that has revealed non-compliances in areas of airworthiness, air safety and flight operations, DGCA said on Tuesday. It has also grounded four LearJet planes of the charter firm until airworthiness standards are restored.
Separately, DGCA held a meeting with charter companies and instructed them to prioritise safety over commercial considerations.
Non-scheduled operators will be required to disclose critical safety information on their website such as aircraft age, maintenance history and pilot experience for transparency. A safety ranking is being proposed for non-scheduled operators.
DGCA will also carry out intensive audits to curb falsification of records. Pilots found to be violating duty time norms and attempting to land below safe parameters may face five-year licence suspension. Operators failing to meet compliance standards will also be penalised and may face licence suspension.
Published on February 24, 2026