RAS question
After the Baramati aircraft crash in January 2026, the DGCA grounded the aircraft of which operator and launched a safety audit?
Correct answer: (B) VSR Ventures.
After the January 2026 Baramati aircraft crash, the DGCA grounded four aircraft operated by VSR Ventures and began a safety audit of that operator.
Explanation
The operator was VSR Ventures. The crash involved a Learjet 45XR at Baramati and led the DGCA to ground four aircraft run by VSR Ventures while starting a comprehensive safety audit. The PIB release on the Baramati Learjet 45 accident identifies the aircraft as belonging to M/s VSR Ventures and states that the Ministry asked the DGCA to conduct a special audit of VSR Ventures after the accident. That makes the operator, not the aircraft model or a scheduled airline brand, the key identifier in the question. The immediate regulatory consequence was that four VSR Ventures aircraft were grounded after the crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) SpiceJet is a scheduled airline, while the Baramati accident and the post-accident audit concerned M/s VSR Ventures.
- (C) Club One Air is not named by the Press Information Bureau release as the operator linked to the Baramati Learjet 45 accident.
- (D) Air India Express is unrelated to the Baramati Learjet 45 accident, which the Press Information Bureau release identifies with M/s VSR Ventures.
Concept
This tests regulatory oversight by the DGCA after an aviation accident, a governance theme that RAS often frames through current affairs. It recurs because safety audits, enforcement action and accident investigation show how statutory regulators respond to public-risk events.