Visibility was poor when plane carrying Ajit Pawar crashed: Aviation minister
Pune (PTI): Union Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Wednesday said that as per the preliminary information, visibility at the Baramati airport was poor when the aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed.
Pawar and four others on board died after the chartered plane crashed on Wednesday morning.
Naidu and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol flew to Pune from Delhi to attend Pawar's last rites.
"Teams from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) have arrived to carry out a probe into the accident. Preliminary information suggests that visibility was poor at the time the aircraft was attempting to land," said Naidu.
When ATC Baramati asked the pilot whether the runway was in sight, the response was negative, following which the aircraft executed a go-around, he said.
During the second landing attempt, ATC again asked whether the runway was in sight, to which the pilot responded in the affirmative, the minister said.
After the ATC granted landing clearance, the aircraft crashed, Naidu said, adding, "We are seeking more details and will conduct the investigation in a transparent manner."
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Expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil gets bail in sexual assault case
Pathanamthitta(Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday granted bail to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the third sexual assault case against him, in which he was arrested earlier this month.
The bail was granted by the Pathanamthitta District Sessions Court, which was considering an appeal filed by the MLA against a judicial magistrate's court that had denied him relief, stating that the allegations against him were serious and that he had "similar antecedents".
The third sexual assault case was registered against the Palakkad MLA under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint lodged by a woman from Kottayam district on 8 January. He was arrested in the case on January 11 in Palakkad.
The Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier protected the MLA from arrest in the first two sexual assault cases, which were registered based on complaints from two different women.
