Chartered Learjet Crash Kills Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar

A chartered Bombardier Learjet 45 operated by VSR Ventures crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Maharashtra on the morning of Jan. 28, 2026, killing all five people on board, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

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Al Jazeera

Multiple outlets report the jet caught fire and exploded on impact, with eyewitnesses and television footage showing wreckage and a fierce blaze.

Al Jazeera

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have opened probes into the accident.

The victims are consistently reported as Pawar, two crew members, and two of his staff or security detail, though some outlets list the staff by name.

Accounts converge that the Learjet missed an initial approach and attempted a second landing.

Reports differ on whether it struck the runway threshold or crashed short, and on the exact timing and which runway was used.

Al Jazeera

Several sources give a narrow late-morning window for the incident.

Flight tracking and eyewitness timelines place the flight leaving Mumbai around 08:10 IST, going off radar about 08:45, and the crash occurring roughly 08:40–08:50 as the crew tried a second approach to Runway 11.

Some outlets say the crew first attempted Runway 29 before switching.

Air traffic control and eyewitness reports describe a go-around, a clearance to land, then flames near the threshold seconds later.

Investigations are under way, but the cause remains unconfirmed.

“The aircraft was en route from India’s financial capital of Mumbai to Ajit Pawar’s home city Baramati when it crash-landed and burst into flames some 254 kilometers (159 miles) from Mumbai”

AP News

Regulatory and investigative bodies — the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) — have been dispatched.

Several outlets cite poor visibility as a possible factor, while others highlight operational context such as Baramati’s uncontrolled, table-top airfield environment and prior incidents involving the same aircraft type or operator.

Authorities and experts will examine weather, approach procedures, runway environment, and aircraft maintenance records.

The crash triggered formal condolences and state-level mourning, with political leaders across parties expressing shock.

Maharashtra declared three days of mourning, flags were lowered and public events were cancelled; Pawar's mortal remains were taken to Baramati for public viewing, and his last rites were planned with full state honours with national leaders expected to attend.

Awaz The Voice

Opposition figures and regional leaders called for thorough, and in some cases independent or court-monitored, inquiries into the circumstances of the crash.

Reports also memorialized Pawar's long political career and provided human details about the co-occupants.

“Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, was killed along with four others when the chartered plane he was travelling in crashed at Baramati airport in western India on Wednesday morning”

BBC

Coverage outlines Pawar's rise from cooperative institutions to state leadership, his split in the NCP and his role as deputy chief minister.

BBC

Several outlets highlighted the pilots and staff killed, including co-pilot Shambhavi, who was reported as young and highly trained, and published personal tributes from political figures and family.

Some sources disagreed on Pawar's exact age in early reports, a small factual discrepancy amid wider agreement on the event itself.