AAIB: unstabilized approach and low-altitude stall caused 2023 Mumbai Learjet crash

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has published its final report on the September 14, 2023 crash of a Learjet 45XR at Mumbai airport. It concluded the crew continued an unstabilized approach in marginal weather and that improper handling led to an aerodynamic stall at low altitude, according to reports by Free Press Journal (ANI), Free Press Journal and Mathrubhumi.

The aircraft and the crash

The aircraft, registration VT-DBL, was operated by VSR Ventures on a non-scheduled flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai. Eight people were on board. Free Press Journal reports all survived with serious injuries and the aircraft was destroyed; the reports read do not describe any deaths. They differ on the passenger count: one says six passengers and two crew, while the ANI report lists a pilot-in-command, a co-pilot, one flight attendant and five passengers.

What the AAIB found

The AAIB said the pilot-in-command's decision to continue landing an unstabilized aircraft in inclement weather was a probable cause, per Free Press Journal. Contributing factors reported include:

• Time pressure: the crew was hurrying to land before a two-hour general aviation landing restriction that began at 5:30 pm.
• Loss of visual reference: the pilot disconnected the autopilot to land manually, then lost sight of the runway and continued in 800 meters visibility instead of going around.
• Procedures: the crew did not complete the challenge-and-response landing checklist or adequately monitor airspeed, and the first officer's go-around call came late.
• Approach profile: the aircraft crossed the threshold at 137 feet with an 8 to 10 knot tailwind. The first officer called for a go-around at 122 feet, when airspeed had fallen to 111 knots with engines near idle. The aircraft stalled at about 112 feet and struck an unpaved grass area at 96 knots, per the Free Press Journal report.

The Free Press Journal report also says the AAIB found incomplete logbooks, missing certifying staff stamps and discrepancies in training procedures at the operator.

Recommendations

According to Mathrubhumi and the ANI report, the AAIB recommended that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA):

• conduct a one-time audit of training records of fixed-wing pilots, particularly those working for non-scheduled and general aviation operators, to confirm mandatory simulator exercises were completed;
• add stall-recovery exercises in the landing configuration to recurrent simulator training;
• assess the effectiveness of operators' internal audits and enforce go-around procedures more strictly.

It also recommended that operators verify training records and strengthen crew resource management training, that VSR Ventures keep its logbooks as prescribed, and that the Airports Authority of India reinforce controller procedures on aircraft separation to reduce wake turbulence risk.

Free Press Journal also notes that VSR Ventures had another Learjet 45XR crash at Baramati on January 28, 2026, which killed five people. The AAIB report on that accident is not covered in the reports read.

The reports read do not include a response from VSR Ventures or the DGCA.