India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded four Learjet 40 and Learjet 45 aircraft operated by VSR Aviation (Delhi International) following an audit triggered by the crash of a 2011-built Learjet 45XR, VT-SSK (msn 45-417), on January 28 at Baramati airstrip. Five people died in the accident, which occurred in low visibility and heavy fog.

“The multidisciplinary audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the organisation [VSR Aviation] in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations,” the DGCA said in a statement.

The grounded aircraft include the 21.3-year-old Learjet 40 VT-VRA (msn 45-2016), the 18.5-year-old Learjet 40XR VT-VRS (msn 45-2080), and the 20.5-year-old Learjet 45XRs VT-VRV (msn 45-281) and VT-TRI (msn 45-290).

All four aircraft will remain grounded until airworthiness standards are fully restored. The DGCA has issued deficiency reporting forms requiring VSR Aviation to submit a root cause analysis of the non-compliances for further assessment.

In addition to the grounded jets, VSR Aviation's non-scheduled operator's permit (NSOP) #07/2014, held under VSR Ventures Pvt, included as of September a Learjet 45, a Learjet 45XR, four Legacy 600s, a PC-12 inactive since January 2024, and four King Air B200 Beech (twin turboprop)s.

The company further holds another NSOP, #04/2023, under VSR Corporation Pvt, which comprised a single King Air B350.

On September 14, 2023, another Learjet 45XR operated by VSR Aviation, VT-DBL (msn 45-404), manufactured in 2009, crashed while landing at Mumbai International in heavy rain and reduced visibility. There were no casualties.

Following that crash, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requested details of the incident. VSR Aviation failed to respond, leading EASA to suspend the carrier's third-country operator (TCO) authorisation #IND-0027 in December 2024.

ch-aviation reached out to VSR Aviation for comment.

DGCA enforces stricter safety measures

The crash of a Learjet 45XR operated by VSR Aviation was the first of two accidents involving Indian NSOP holders in the last 30 days. On February 23, a 1987-built King Air C90, VT-AJV (msn LJ-1159), operated by Redbird Airways (Delhi International) and conducting a medical evacuation flight, crashed at Simariya, Jharkhand, after diverting due to adverse weather. The accident resulted in seven fatalities.

Both accidents prompted the DGCA to implement stringent safety measures for non-scheduled permits. Operators must now publish aircraft age, maintenance history, and pilot experience online. The regulator will introduce a safety ranking system for all NSOP holders and will audit flight data and technical logs to detect unauthorised operations or falsified records.

Phase I of the audit is expected to conclude by early March, followed by Phase II. Penalties for violations of aircraft or crew utilisation rules will become stricter, with pilots breaching flight duty limits or attempting landings below safety minima facing licence suspensions of up to five years. Operators failing compliance standards risk suspension of operating licences.

With both accidents occurring under challenging weather conditions, the DGCA emphasised that recurrent pilot training must focus on weather awareness and decision-making in uncontrolled environments. Operators must provide real-time weather updates and enforce adherence to standard operating procedures.

The regulator stressed that decisions by the pilot-in-command to divert, delay, or cancel a flight for safety reasons are final. “Accountable managers and senior leadership will be held personally responsible for systemic non-compliances. Safety lapses cannot simply be blamed on pilots,” the DGCA added.

Monitoring will intensify for older aircraft and those undergoing ownership changes. NSOP holders operating their own maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities will face audits, and operators lacking adequate capability must outsource maintenance to approved providers.