The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has found that a VSR Ventures Learjet 45XR continued an unstable approach in heavy rain at Mumbai airport in September 2023, with pressure to land before the airport’s daily curfew for non-scheduled flights contributing to the crash. All eight people on board were injured when the aircraft broke into two.
The AAIB’s final report said the probable cause was the crew’s decision to continue the approach in marginal weather, combined with inappropriate aircraft handling that led to an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. A go-around, or a second attempt to land, should have been initiated when the approach became unstable, but the decision was taken too late.
The accident took place on September 14, 2023, as the Learjet flew from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai. The pilots had discussed the airport’s daily restriction on charter flights between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm and intended to land by 5 pm. They repeatedly asked air traffic control for direct routings to save time, according to the report. The aircraft crashed at about 5.02 pm, roughly half an hour before the restriction began.
The report identified an 8–10-knot tailwind as a contributing factor. Air traffic control had reported wind speeds of 6–7 knots. During descent, the autopilot was disconnected at 364 feet. The aircraft then moved left and right of the runway centreline and remained too high on approach. In heavy rain, the pilot lost sight of the runway while the first officer called out directional corrections.
The aircraft’s airspeed fell below the 119-knot reference speed while engine power was near idle. The first officer called for a go-around at about 122 feet, but a stall warning sounded seconds later. The commander attempted to go around, although the AAIB said the response was inconsistent with published stall-recovery procedures, which require increasing power and lowering the aircraft’s nose. The jet rolled 53 degrees to the right and struck the ground at about 96 knots.
The AAIB also identified shortcomings in cockpit procedures and operator oversight. It said the first officer should have called for a go-around earlier and that landing checklists were completed by only one pilot without the standard challenge-and-response procedure. Training records showed that stall-recovery exercises had been marked “not applicable”, while the company’s internal audits were not carried out diligently.
The bureau recommended that stall-recovery drills in every simulator session include the landing configuration, in addition to climb, cruise and approach conditions. It also called for a one-time Directorate General of Civil Aviation check of fixed-wing pilots’ training records, particularly at non-scheduled and general aviation operators.
The recommendations further require operators to verify training records periodically, strengthen crew resource management training and ensure that monitoring pilots make firm callouts when approach parameters deviate. VSR Ventures pilots are to be sensitised to proper challenge-and-response checklists. The AAIB also asked operators to conduct internal audits in the true spirit of the rules, with their effectiveness tested during DGCA surveillance, and directed attention to current manuals and complete technical and airframe logbooks.
