29 January,2026 08:33 AM IST | Baramati | Archana Dahiwal
1 The aircraft departed from Mumbai at 8.10 am on Wednesday with DCM Ajit Pawar and four others on board. Pawar was travelling to Baramati to attend public meetings; 2 Flight tracking data indicates that the aircraft disappeared from radar shortly before 8.45 am as it approached Baramati. Officials believe the jet was flying unusually low while preparing to land; 3 According to officials, the aircraft overshot the runway while attempting to land near Baramati airport. The jet lost control moments later, before crashing and bursting into flames; 4 The aircraft went down near Gojwani hill on the outskirts of Baramati. Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud noise and saw plane crash and explode, with thick black smoke and intense flames. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed after a chartered aircraft crashed on Wednesday morning near Baramati airport, sending shockwaves across the state.
The aircraft, a Learjet 45, reportedly overshot the runway while attempting to land and burst into flames moments after impact, officials said. The crash and the intense fire that followed proved fatal for all five occupants on board.
Flight tracking data indicates that the jet departed Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar shortly before 8.45 am. Officials believe the crash occurred around 8.45 am, just minutes before the aircraft was scheduled to land.
Ajit Pawar was travelling to Baramati to attend a series of public meetings linked to the February Zilla Parishad election campaign. He was accompanied by staff members and the flight crew on the chartered aircraft.
Emergency response teams reached the crash site soon after the incident, followed by senior officials from the district administration and aviation authorities, who began preliminary assessments of the wreckage.
The aircraft came down near Gojwani hill on the outskirts of Baramati. Eyewitnesses described frightening scenes as the jet flew low before crashing and erupting into flames.
"We were working in the fields when we heard a very loud noise," said a local woman. "The plane was flying extremely low. Within seconds, it crashed and caught fire."
Another eyewitness said the aircraft appeared to drop sharply just before reaching the runway. "I saw it fall suddenly and explode. There were multiple blasts as the fire spread," he said. Residents from nearby areas rushed toward the site in an attempt to help but were forced to retreat due to the intense flames and thick black smoke
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"The fire was too powerful. No one could go close," another witness said. The accident has plunged Baramati and the entire state into mourning, as Maharashtra grapples with the sudden loss of a senior leader.
