It’s Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and Maharashtra has woken up to a devastating tragedy. In a shocking turn of events, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been killed in a plane crash in his home turf of Baramati.
The thing is, Pawar was a man of precision and punctuality. He was heading to Baramati for a marathon of four public meetings for the Zilla Parishad elections. He never made it. Or nothing.
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The Fatal Descent: Field Notes
It’s an ongoing situation where the details are still smoldering on the runway. Here’s the ground reality of what happened at 8:45 AM today:
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The Failed Approach: The aircraft, a 16-year-old Bombardier Learjet 45 (VT-SSK), took off from Mumbai at 8:10 AM. Flight data shows they tried to land once at 8:30 AM but aborted—likely due to poor visibility. On the second attempt at 8:42 AM, the plane skidded off the side of Runway 11 and exploded. Those too
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No Survivors: The DGCA has confirmed that all five (some reports say six) people on board perished. Along with Ajit Pawar, the crash claimed the lives of pilots Sumit Kapoor and Sambhavi Pathak, plus Pawar’s security personnel and an attendant. Let’s be real—the visuals from the site are horrific. The plane was reduced to a “ball of fire.”
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The Baramati Connection: The crash happened at Baramati Airport, which was recently handed over to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company. Eyewitnesses say the jet sounded “unstable” and made a loud noise before the impact. And here’s the kicker—Pawar’s family, including Supriya Sule and his son Parth, were already in the air from Delhi and Mumbai respectively when the news broke. Or nothing.
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Political Vacuum: PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have already spoken to CM Devendra Fadnavis. The PM described Ajit Pawar as a “leader of the people” with a deep grassroots connect. Priyanka Chaturvedi (UBT) even broke down on live TV. Regardless of the 2023 split in the NCP, the state is in collective shock.
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Crash Profile: VT-SSK (Jan 28, 2026)
| Detail | Status |
| Time of Crash | 08:45 AM IST |
| Location | Baramati Airport, Pune District |
| Aircraft Model | Bombardier Learjet 45 (16 years old) |
| Operator | VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd. |
| Probable Cause | Technical malfunction during landing / Poor visibility |
| Official Toll | 5-6 Confirmed Dead (including PIC & FO) |
And Here’s the Kicker…
Ajit Pawar was famously a workaholic who started his day at 6:00 AM. He had just attended a high-level infrastructure meeting in Mumbai yesterday. The thing is, his death leaves the Mahayuti alliance in a tailspin just as the local body elections are heating up. Those too.
One side comment—the DGCA has already ordered a high-level probe into VSR Ventures. The operator claims the plane was “100% safe,” but something clearly went wrong in those final three minutes before 8:45 AM. Or nothing.
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End…
