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Baramati Plane Crash: A business jet attempting to land at a Baramati Airstrip in Maharashtra’s Pune district on a Wednesday morning went down while landing, leaving no survivors among its five occupants, including the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. It was a Learjet 45 charter aircraft, and the flight took off from Mumbai for the deputy CM’s local election duties. Captain Sahil Madan, the pilot-in-command, and First Officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak were among the dead.

Ajit Pawar's death

Ajit Pawar boarded the business jet, registered as VT-SSK, operated by VSR Aviation. It is a 16-year old jet, and it departed around 8 AM from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Maharashtra’s Deputy CM was travelling to Baramati to attend multiple political events.

Around 8:45 AM, as the private jet was approaching its final approach to the runway at Baramati Airport, it reportedly faced difficulties, lost control before the runway, exploding on impact. Despite an immediate response from emergency services, authorities later confirmed that there were no survivors among the five people on board.

Who were the plane crew?

The two pilots killed in the accident were Captain Sumit Kapoor and First Officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak. Both worked for VSR Aviation, a Delhi-based charter company that owned the aircraft. Captain Kapoor was flying the plane and was serving as Pilot-in-Command (PIC), while Captain Pathak assisted with navigation and communication. Kapoor was in charge of crucial flight decisions during takeoff and landing and was well-known for his long hours in corporate aviation.

The First Officer, Captain Shambhavi Pathak, was assisting in aircraft navigation, handling and communication with ATC. Aviation officials noted that both pilots were qualified and familiar with charter operations on similar aircraft.

Who was Shambhavi Pathak?

Shambhavi Pathak completed her schooling from Air Force Bal Bharati School in 2018. Her aviation journey began in New Zealand, where she took training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy. She got her Commercial Pilot License under India’s DGCA norms and NZ CAA. Pathak later did a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics degree from the University of Mumbai in 2022 and cleared all theoretical exams for a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence. It is a crucial step toward commercial aircraft.

Before moving into charter flying, she had served as an assistant flight instructor at the Madhya Pradesh Flying Club. She had a Flight Instructor Rating (A), and over there, she trained aspiring pilots and was widely respected for her discipline and technical skills.

However, the Maharashtra government has announced three days of mourning following the Deputy Chief Minister's death.