Mumbai, Jan 28: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five others were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Pune district on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The incident occurred when the plane carrying NCP leader Pawar (66) and others was landing in Pune’s Baramati area, they added.
The ill-fated aircraft, a Learjet 45XR with registration number VT-SSK operated by VSR Ventures, was en route from Mumbai to Baramati when it encountered difficulties during descent. Officials confirmed that the aircraft broke into pieces upon impact and caught fire after veering off the runway.
Eyewitnesses and initial visuals from the crash site showed extensive devastation, with wreckage scattered across nearby fields. Large crowds of villagers and emergency responders gathered at the spot.
Ajit Pawar, the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and a senior figure in Maharashtra politics, was travelling with his personal security officer, an attendant, and two crew members—the pilot and the first officer. There were no survivors, DGCA officials confirmed.
Pawar had been in Mumbai the previous day to attend a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He was travelling to Baramati for an event related to the zilla panchayat elections.
The crash site near Baramati airport witnessed intense rescue efforts, but the severity of the impact and fire left little scope for survival. Preliminary reports suggest the aircraft lost control during the landing phase despite normal weather conditions, raising the possibility of mechanical failure or other technical issues.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a detailed investigation. Teams are examining the black box and wreckage to determine the cause of the crash.
Pawar’s last post on X (formerly Twitter), shared about an hour before the crash, reflected his continued engagement in public life. Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant described him as a “bold leader” who played a key role in the development of Baramati.
The incident has deeply affected the NCP and Maharashtra’s ruling coalition, where Pawar was a major contributor to infrastructure and water resource policies. The tragedy marks a somber moment in India’s aviation history and has renewed calls for stricter safety checks on chartered aircraft.
Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar, Five Others Killed in Plane Crash in Pune
