Ajit Pawar Plane Crash: No SOS Sent, Captain Spoke to ATC About Runway Visibility

The captain of the aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the runway was visible shortly before the plane crashed and burst into flames while attempting to land at Baramati on Wednesday, officials familiar with the matter said. No distress signal or SOS call was sent before the crash.

All five people on board were killed in the accident. Videos from the crash site showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the burning wreckage, which was scattered near the runway.

Pawar was travelling to Baramati, his family stronghold located about 250 km from Mumbai, to address a rally ahead of rural local body elections.

On the day of the incident, Air Traffic Control at Baramati airport was operated by Carver Aviation, which manages the facility on alternate days with Redbird Aviation.

Pramesh Parikh, a manager at Carver Aviation, said the aircraft was scheduled to land at 8:50 am. “The pilot informed us that the runway was visible. Baramati has a 1,770-metre runway. We could not see the aircraft land, but we heard the crash. There may have been a visibility issue,” he said.

Eyewitnesses reported that the pilot attempted a go-around — a standard aviation manoeuvre in which an aircraft aborts landing and climbs again — shortly before the crash.

The Learjet 45, a mid-size business jet, took off from Mumbai at 8:10 am. It was piloted by Captain Sumit Kapoor and First Officer Shambavi Pathak. Pinky Mali was the flight attendant. Pawar’s personal security officer, Vidhit Jadhav, was also on board.

Baramati airport was earlier managed by Reliance Airport Developers before being handed over to the Maharashtra Airport Development Company. The airport was built by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in 1996 and was among five state airports previously operated by the Reliance group.