Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, 4 Others Dead In LJ45 Aircraft Crash In Baramati
A DGCA official said the Maharashtra Deputy CM was aboard a VT-SSK Learjet 45 aircraft. He confirmed that no one on board survived the crash.
Published : January 28, 2026 at 9:46 AM IST
|Updated : January 28, 2026 at 5:54 PM IST
By Sajjad Sayyed
Pune: An aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar crashed at Baramati airport on Wednesday morning, killing all five people on board.
Pawar, 66, was travelling to Baramati from Mumbai to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 Zilla Parishad elections in Maharashtra.
A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said Pawar was aboard a VT-SSK Learjet 45 (LJ45) aircraft operated by VSR Aviation. The official confirmed that there were five people, including the crew, on the plane, and none survived.
According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 AM and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 AM. A CCTV footage from a nearby place shows the aircraft crashing and turning into a ball of fire a few hundred metres away at 8.45 am.
"Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was onboard along with 2 more personnel (1 PSO and 1 attendant) and 2 crew (PIC+FO) members. As per initial information, no person on board has survived the crash," the DGCA official said.
Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital," he said.
The pilots who died in the crash were identified as Captain Sumit Kapoor and Captain Shambhavi Pathak. The Learjet 45 is a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace. According to a noted aviation resource Global Air, LJ45 was introduced in 1998, featuring a 1,420–1,971 nautical mile range, a 460-465 ktas cruise speed, and seating for up to 9 passengers. It requires a takeoff distance of approximately 3,199-4,400 ft and a landing distance of 2,430-4,063 ft, making it suitable for smaller runways.
Videos from the spot showed burning wreckage of the plane. Rescue teams were deployed immediately, while locals also rushed to help, but it was too dangerous to approach the burning aircraft.
As per Ajit Pawar's schedule, he was to campaign for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, set to take place next month. He had four rallies planned for Wednesday.
The entire state of Maharashtra is gripped in shock with the news of Ajit Pawar's death in the plane crash. Considered one of the most fierce politicians of Maharashtra, the NCP chief had not only consolidated his position in the BJP-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time after the 2024 Assembly Elections.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of Rajya Sabha and two sons, Parth and Jay. His Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in alliance with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
Ajit Pawar came out of the shadow of his formidable uncle Sharad Pawar after he rebelled against the NCP founder. His party had won 41 seats out of the 59 seats it contested in the 2024 polls to the 288-member state assembly. Pawar had defeated his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar from Baramati by a margin of more than one lakh votes.
Ajit Pawar was the son of Sharad Pawar's elder brother Anantrao Pawar, who passed away when Ajit was 18 years old. He followed in Sharad Pawar's footsteps into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a sugar cooperative. In 1991, he was elected chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank, a position he held for 16 years.
His first electoral foray was in 1991 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramati. But he vacated the seat after Sharad Pawar became defence minister in the Narasimha Rao government and needed to enter Parliament. Ajit was elected as MLA from Baramati the same year and has been representing the seat.
Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devbrat, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed grief and met Sunetra Pawar at the Vidya Prathishthan in Baramati.
Members of the Pawar family, including Sharad Pawar and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, also reached Baramati, as a pall of gloom spread over the town.
The Maharashtra government announced a three-day state mourning. Ajit Pawar's funeral will be held in Baramati tomorrow in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Meanwhile, Civil Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Wednesday said the Centre will conduct a transparent investigation into the aircraft crash.
"Before landing, the Air Traffic Control asked the aircraft's pilot whether the runway was in sight, and he confirmed it was not. After a go-around, the aircraft returned to land, and the pilot was again asked if the runway was visible for landing. The pilot confirmed visibility of the runway. After ATC cleared the landing, the accident occurred," Naidu said.
Naidu said the investigation into the mishap will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India. He said an official of AAIB along with those from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are at the crash site. The minister further said the crash of an aircraft belonging to VSR Aviation in 2023 will be included in the purview of the probe.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Muralidhar Mohol said, "There was some issue with visibility during landing, as per the preliminary inquiry. Now the investigation will be conducted by the official team that has arrived at Baramati". (With additional inputs from Neeta Kolhatkar, Sachin Parab, and Saurabh Shukla).
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