Technical error or bad weather? What caused Ajit Pawar’s plane to crash in Baramati?

It’s a sad day for Maharashtra politics, as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has passed away after a plane carrying him from Mumbai to Baramati crash-landed on Wednesday (January 28). Visuals that have gone viral on social media show the aircraft’s wreckage engulfed in flames.

According to reports, the NCP chief and nephew of Maharashtra’s political veteran Sharad Pawar was to travel to Baramati to address rallies ahead of local body polls.

But what do we know so far about the circumstances leading to Ajit Pawar’s demise?

Plane crash and Ajit Pawar’s demise

On Wednesday morning, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar boarded a chartered plane from Mumbai to Baramati where the 66-year-old was expected to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections.

However, as the
plane attempted to land in Baramati, it crashed, resulting in the deaths of all passengers on board — Ajit Pawar was accompanied by his two staff members as well as two crew. An onlooker in Baramati told the Indian Express, “The aircraft was making a lot of noise while landing so my attention went to it. It tried landing but slid off the runway and there was a big explosion just like they show in movies. They have pulled out 4-5 bodies from the aircraft till now.”

Another eyewitness recounted the moment he saw the plane going up in flames to News18. “I saw it with my eyes. This is really painful. When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash, and it did crash. It then exploded. There was a massive explosion. After that, we rushed here and saw that the aircraft was on fire. There were four-five explosions in the aircraft again. More people came here, and they tried to pull the people out (of the aircraft). But since this was a huge fire, people could not help. Ajit Pawar was onboard and this is really painful for us. I can’t describe it in words.”

Kiran Gujar, a close aide of Ajit Pawar in Baramati, was quoted as saying, “All six people including Ajit Pawar were brought dead to the hospital.”

Visuals from the spot show fire and smoke, mangled remains of the plane, and ambulances rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said all passengers on board died in the crash.

Ajit Pawar’s plane in focus

Following the crash and the resulting death of Ajit Pawar, focus has turned to the plane. Many are questioning if the crash was the result of a technical glitch in the aircraft.

Many details of the crash remain unclear as of now, but it has been revealed that the plane chartered by Ajit Pawar was a Learjet 45, a mid-size business jet made by Bombardier Aerospace. This plane typically seats eight passengers and is known for its short runway capabilities and baggage space, making it the top choice for people chartering private planes.

The plane was owned by VSR Ventures Private Limited, which is founded and owned by VK Singh. Incidentally, the same plane that crashed on Wednesday had experienced a similar fate in 2023. On September 14, the Learjet 45 crashed while landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport amid heavy rain and poor visibility.

What’s even more notable is that the US National Transportation Safety Board had called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate immediate inspections of the main landing gear on several Learjet models.

Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware told Hindustan Times, “The aircraft VT SSK was attempting landing and the aircraft went on the side of the runway and exploded on crashing.”

Preliminary investigation into the crash suggests the aircraft faced a technical issue while landing. “The pilot tried to land but it appeared that their was loss of control,” sources were quoted as telling News18.

Sources from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India’s aviation regulator, have been quoted as saying that wreckage distribution will be studied and photographed in detail to find out the direction and speed and impact on the aircraft. Moreover, they will retrieve the black box of the aircraft to ascertain the events that led to the crash.

They are also looking at external factors such as the weather, runway positioning to understand the reasons behind the tragedy. Some have noted that the aircraft encountered extremely dense fog in the Pune district and the Baramati region, which caused it to lose its course while flying through a hilly area before crashing.

Reactions to Pawar’s demise

As news broke of Ajit Pawar’s death, the political world was left reeling from the shock. It has been reported that the 66-year-old’s family is now en route to Baramati, the bastion of the Pawar clan. His cousin, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, who is in Delhi for Parliament’s budget session, is leaving for Pune, whereas his uncle, Sharad Pawar was at his Mumbai residence, Silver Oak, at the time of the crash.

The crash has also led to an outpouring of grief across political lines. PM Narendra Modi posted on X, “Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra. His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed his grief and hailed Ajit Pawar’s contributions to Maharashtra and its people.

Deeply shocked and pained to learn about the untimely demise of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Shri Ajit Pawar.

Throughout his long public life, he remained committed to the development and prosperity of Maharashtra. He was known for his compassion for the people and his…

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 28, 2026

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi also expressed her sorrow at the news. “There have been differences between us, but we have worked together. He was a really committed man who kept to his work,” she was quoted as saying.

VIDEO | On demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an aircraft crash, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi says, “This very sad news came early in the morning. Ajit Pawar ji himself was among the young leadership of Maharashtra, committed and dedicated to the… pic.twitter.com/eARXg6pTjg

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 28, 2026

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed her grief over the passing of Ajit Pawar. She wrote on X, “Deeply shocked and stunned by the suddden demise of Ajit Pawar! The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and his co-passengers have died in a disastrous plane crash at Baramati today morning, and I am feeling a deep sense of loss. My condolences to his family including his uncle Sharad Pawar ji, and late Ajitji’s all friends and followers. The incident needs proper investigation.”

Pawar’s party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), also broke down as they received news of their ‘Dada’s’ death.

A look back at Pawar’s life

Before his death,
Ajit Pawar held the mantle of being the longest-serving deputy chief minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments.

He was married to
Sunetra Pawar, with whom he has two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar. Pawar began his political journey in 1982, winning a seat on the board of a cooperative sugar factory. In 1991, he became chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank.

He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 from the Baramati constituency but later vacated the seat for his uncle, Sharad Pawar. Pawar was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly seven times from Baramati, winning a 1991 by-election and then in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.

In November 2019, he engineered a split in the NCP and joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the deputy chief minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit Pawar.

With inputs from agencies