Ajit Pawar plane crash: A tragic plane crash near Baramati airport on Wednesday took the lives of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, along with two experienced pilots, Captain Sumit Kapur and co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak. VSR Aviation, the operator, confirmed their deaths.
The aircraft, a Learjet 45, attempted an emergency landing at Baramati but didn’t make it. Everyone on board, Ajit Pawar, two of his personal staff, and the two pilots, died in the crash.
Who was Captain Sumit Kapur?
Captain Sumit Kapur was in charge of the flight. As the most senior crew member, he made the key calls, approach, landing, emergencies, all of it.
People in the charter aviation world said Kapur had a lot of experience with business jets and was well respected.
Who was Shambhavi Pathak?
Shambhavi Pathak, the co-pilot, stood out for her strong academic and teaching background. She finished her schooling at Air Force Bal Bharati School, then trained as a commercial pilot at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy.
She later earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics from the University of Mumbai.
She worked as an Assistant Flying Instructor at the Madhya Pradesh Flying Club, where she earned her Flight Instructor Rating (A). The DGCA had issued her a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence.
VSR Aviation said the plane was “100 per cent airworthy” and both pilots were “fairly experienced.”
Now, the DGCA is digging into the details of weather, visibility, flight operations, and technical data to figure out what went wrong.
The Learjet 45 showed up in the late ‘90s and shook things up a bit more space, a bit more speed, and a real sense of style for business jets. Bombardier added it to the Learjet family, then later brought out the 45XR, which was basically the 45 but with a little extra muscle.
Jump ahead to 2021, and Bombardier called it quits on all Learjet models. No more light or mid-size jets from them. Even so, Learjet 45s and 45XRs are still out there, flying everywhere. Corporate groups, charter flights, air ambulances, and government teams all keep these jets busy.
Right now, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is digging into a recent crash. They’re leading the investigation and will decide what happens from here.
