BAOA asks business jet operators to strictly comply with safety culture

Mumbai/ New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) With two fatal accidents involving planes operated by non-scheduled flight operators, the Business Jet Operators' Association (BAOA) on Tuesday urged such players to conduct internal safety audits and reinforce strict crew briefings to ensure strict compliance with safety culture.

The Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) represents various non-scheduled and private jet operators.

Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd's Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV enroute from Ranchi to Delhi crashed soon after takeoff on Monday. There were five people and two crew members onboard. All of them died in the crash that happened in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest.

BAOA said the tragic air ambulance accident in Jharkhand yesterday evening is a sobering reminder that in aviation, safety can never be taken for granted.

"As business aircraft operators connecting many uncontrolled airfields with limited weather and advisory support, we must ensure that safety is never, ever compromised under any circumstances.

"With the pre-monsoon season approaching, I urge each of you to conduct internal safety audits, reinforce strict crew briefings, and recommit collectively to the principle that safety must remain our first priority always and without exception," BAOA Managing Director Captain RK Bali said in a statement.

Later, he also told PTI that it was important that pilots have full awareness about the weather so that everything can be planned accordingly, and due diligence was important.

The air ambulance accident is the second fatal one involving a plane operated by a non-scheduled operator in less than a month. On January 28, a VSR Ventures-owned Learjet 45 plane crashed near Baramati, killing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.

Earlier this month, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told PTI that the government was conducting a "very thorough study" of flight operations by non-scheduled operators and uncontrolled airfields to look at areas where steps need to be taken. PTI IAS RAM CS BAL BAL