 "Five people on board - Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, two members of his personal staff, and the two pilots lost their lives in Baramati plane crash. Image courtesy: X")
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was among five people killed in a plane crash today (January 28).
The Learjet 45 aircraft crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Baramati airport in Pune district this morning. All five people on board including Ajit, his personal assistant, the flight attendant and two pilots died.
According to eyewitnesses, the aircraft with registration VT-SSK, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, went up in flames after going down. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an investigation into the matter.
The aircraft operator, VSR Aviation, confirmed that the pilots on board were Captain Sumit Kapur and Captain Shambhavi Pathak, both experienced aviation professionals.
But what do we know about pilots killed in the Baramati plane crash?Captain Sumit Kapur: Pilot-in-Command
Captain Sumit Kapur was the Pilot-in-Command (PIC) of the flight. As the most senior crew member, Kapur was responsible for all key flight decisions, including approach, landing, and emergency response, according to aviation officials.
VSR Aviation’s top official, VK Singh, told India Today that Kapur had logged over 16,000 hours of flying experience. “He was very seasoned and had worked with Sahara, Jetline, and Jet Airways. He was very experienced with this type of aircraft,” Singh said as quoted by the outlet.
Captain Shambhavi Pathak: Co-Pilot
Shambhavi Pathak was the daughter of an Indian Army officer, according to India Today. She was serving as the First Officer with VSR Ventures, a Delhi-based non-scheduled air transport operator. With a strong academic background in aviation, she was a trained commercial pilot.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Pathak completed her secondary education between 2016 and 2018 at Air Force Bal Bharati School. Pathak pursued commercial pilot and flight crew training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy from 2018 to 2019.
She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics, Aviation and Aerospace Science and Technology from the University of Mumbai in 2022. Pathak served as an assistant flight instructor at the Madhya Pradesh Flying Club.
Captain Pathak holds multiple aviation licenses and certifications, including a Commercial Pilot License issued by the DGCA in May 2020, reported News18. Singh told India Today that Pathak about 1,500 hours of flying experience.
“Good human beings, good pilots”
Singh also recalled his personal relationship with Captain Kapur and Captain Pathak. He said that both were close to him.
“Captain Sumit Kapoor was a very dear friend of mine. His son is also a pilot with us. Captain Shambhavi was like my child to me. Both of them were extremely good human beings and extremely good pilots. They were from Delhi,” he was quoted as saying.
Another social media post remembering Captain Pathak has surfaced online.
A social media user named Sudhir, revealing that she was his daughter’s childhood friend, remembered Pathak fondly.
Sudhir shared the picture of the young pilot on X with the caption, “Along with the Deputy CM of Maharashtra, a young pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak, the Pilot of the plane, also lost her life in the Plane crash. She was a brilliant student, a great daughter, a very loving sibling and a very good friend. This is a personal loss as she was my daughter’s friend from KG class. Prayers."
‘Tomorrow will never come’
Shivakumar, the father of flight attendant Pinky Mali who was killed in the plane crash, recalled his final phone conversation with his daughter while speaking to NDTV.
Pinky, a resident of Worli in Mumbai, told him she was flying with the Maharashtra Deputy CM to Baramati and would head to Nanded next.
“I told her that we will talk tomorrow after your work. But that tomorrow will never arrive,” Shivkumar was quoted as saying. Shivkumar said that Pinky had been working on VIP chartered flights, including with Ajit Pawar on previous occasions.
“I have lost my daughter. I do not know what exactly happened, as I have no technical knowledge about such incidents. I am completely shattered. I just want my daughter’s body so that I can perform her last rites with dignity. That is all I wish for."
The flight details revealed that the aircraft left Mumbai at 8:10 am, disappeared from radar around 8:45 am, and crashed at 8:50 am. The NCP chief was en route to address rallies in Baramati ahead of the local body polls.
Singh told India Today that preliminary information suggested that poor visibility contributed to the crash, and that the aircraft was “absolutely fit to the best of our knowledge."
A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) left Delhi for Pune to probe the incident, according to the aviation watchdog DGCA.
With inputs from agencies