The incident occurred around 8:45 a.m. when the Learjet 45, registration VT-SSK, veered off the runway during landing, burst into flames, and exploded. All five people on board perished, according to officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Pawar, 66, was traveling from Mumbai to address public meetings ahead of the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections scheduled for February 5.
The victims included Pawar's personal security officer HC Vidip Jadhav, pilots Captain Sumit Kapoor and Captain Shambhavi Pathak, and flight attendant Pinky Mali. Rescue teams recovered the bodies from the wreckage, which scattered across the runway area amid heavy smoke and fire. Emergency services struggled to contain the blaze before confirming no survivors.
Pawar, a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar, was heading to his political stronghold of Baramati for campaign events. He had left Mumbai early after attending a cabinet meeting. The crash site drew crowds of distraught locals as ambulances and fire tenders rushed in.
The Pawar family received the news while in Delhi for the Parliament budget session. Sharad Pawar, along with Supriya Sule (Ajit Pawar's cousin and NCP(SP) executive president), Sunetra Pawar (Ajit's wife), and son Parth Pawar, immediately departed for Baramati. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde also headed to the scene.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed profound grief, describing Pawar's death as "untimely and deeply shocking." In a post on X, he highlighted Pawar's grassroots connect, administrative acumen, and passion for empowering the poor, adding prayers for the bereaved families. President Droupadi Murmu called it an "extremely sad" loss and an irreparable blow to Maharashtra. Tributes also came from Home Minister Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and other leaders across parties.
A DGCA team has reached the site to investigate the cause. Preliminary reports suggest the aircraft became unstable during approach, possibly due to runway conditions or technical issues, though officials stressed that a full probe is underway. Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware confirmed the plane went off the runway side before crashing.
Pawar's death marks a major jolt to Maharashtra politics. A six-time Deputy CM, he was known for his administrative grip on key departments like finance, irrigation, and water resources. Despite never becoming chief minister, his influence in the cooperative sector and Baramati's development was unmatched. The tragedy has left a void in the state's power dynamics, especially amid recent NCP realignments.
