Baramati Airfield trainer aircraft suffers runway excursion during training

A Cessna 172 trainer aircraft operated by the Academy of Carver Aviation experienced a runway excursion at Baramati Airfield in Maharashtra on Sunday. The incident occurred around 12:30 PM during a training exercise involving rejected take-off drills. During the drill, the aircraft, registration VT-SEX, was unable to come to a complete stop on the paved surface and veered off the threshold of Runway 29 into a grassy area.

Flight Instructor Captain Chirag Shashikant Doifode and cadet Abhijeet Jundre were the only occupants on board; both were reported safe and uninjured. The aircraft sustained damage to its propeller, engine cowling, and nose landing gear. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has dispatched an air safety team to conduct a preliminary investigation.

This incident marks the third aircraft mishap at the Baramati airstrip in 2026, following another trainer aircraft crash in May and a fatal Learjet 45 crash in January that killed former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The repeated incidents have raised concerns regarding the safety infrastructure at the airfield, which is currently slated for a ₹100-crore upgrade to include an air traffic control tower, fire station, and improved runway safety areas.