As per the initial occurrence report, a Learjet 45 aircraft (registration VT-SSK), operated by VSR, reportedly crash-landed at Baramati airport on Tuesday. Five people, including crew members, were on board the aircraft
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s plane crashed at the edge of Baramati’s tabletop runway while making a second attempt to land, a statement from flight-tracking platform FlightRadar24 read.
The platform acknowledged that Pawar’s jet crashed, killing him and four others on board. “Indian media reporting the crash of a business jet this morning has claimed the life of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and 4 others. The aircraft was attempting a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed,” FlightRadar24 said in a post on X.
Indian media reporting the crash of a business jet this morning has claimed the life of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and 4 others. The aircraft was attempting a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed. https://t.co/0RKiD9sZVU pic.twitter.com/1kcoWgc3I1
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 28, 2026
As per the initial occurrence report, a Learjet 45 aircraft (registration VT-SSK), operated by VSR, reportedly crash-landed at Baramati airport on Tuesday. Five people, including crew members, were on board the aircraft.
The other four people who died in the crash have been identified as:
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Vidit Jadhav, PSO to Deputy CM
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Sumit Kapoor, Pilot
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Sambhavi Pathak, Pilot
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Pinki Mali, Flight Assistant
Although the accident is subject to a detailed enquiry, prima facie it seems that the jet encountered an issue with the landing gear. Learjet has previously reported landing gear issues.
US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had recently issued an urgent safety recommendation, calling on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate immediate inspections of the main landing gear on several Learjet models.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have called Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ask about the senior NCP leader’s death in the plane crash.
Paying his respects to Pawar on X, PM Modi said, “Shri 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.”
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