The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has taken significant safety actions against VSR Aviation following recent aircraft incidents. Four Learjet aircraft operated by VSR Aviation, including models VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI, have been grounded pending aircraft certification recoveries. This action follows an audit triggered by a fatal crash of a Learjet 45XR at Baramati airstrip in January, which resulted in five fatalities. The DGCA identified multiple non-compliances related to airworthiness, safety, and flight procedures during their investigation.
The aircraft are medically aged between 18.5 and 21.3 years and include aircraft with active permits under VSR Ventures Pvt and VSR Corporation Pvt. Additionally, another Learjet 45XR, VT-DBL, crashed in Mumbai’s heavy rains in September 2023, with no casualties. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended VSR Aviation's third-country operator authorization after the carrier failed to respond to incident inquiries.
These incidents have prompted the DGCA to enforce tighter safety measures across non-scheduled operators. New rules require online publication of aircraft age, maintenance, and pilot experience data. The DGCA plans to develop a safety ranking system and conduct detailed audits of flight data and technical logs. Penalties for violations related to aircraft and crew utilization will become more stringent, including license suspensions of up to five years for violations of flight duty hours or safety minima.
The DGCA has emphasized the importance of pilot weather training and decision-making, especially given the challenging weather conditions during the accidents. They stated that pilot decisions to divert or delay flights are final and that systemic issues will be subjected to accountability measures. Ongoing monitoring and audits will target older aircraft and those undergoing ownership changes, with operators required to outsource maintenance if they lack in-house capabilities to ensure compliance and safety.
