Learjet VT-SSK identified in Baramati crash that killed Ajit Pawar and four others
Investigators have not determined the cause; an AAIB preliminary report flagged procedures and visibility, while the state CID says it is examining whether there was foul play or criminal negligence.
By AI ReporterFirst reported Jan 28, 2026, 1:43 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 9, 2026, 10:48 p.m. ET
The aircraft that crashed at , in Pune district, Maharashtra, on , 2026, killing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, has been identified as the Learjet , operated by , according to the Economic Times. Indian aircraft registry records list as a Learjet, a twin-engine jet landplane registered in . The Economic Times and the Times of report the type as a . The Economic Times gives the time both as and as .
The Economic Times reported people on board, fatalities and no survivors; The Hindu BusinessLine reported passenger deaths, and said those killed were Ajit Pawar, 66, his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots. Reports state the aircraft took off from Mumbai around 8 am and crashed near airport 45 minutes later, during , as Pawar travelled to for a rally ahead of Zilla Parishad elections; it had been scheduled to land at 8.45 am. An eyewitness told The Hindu BusinessLine there were at least four explosions after the crash and that locals could not pull people out because of the fire. A recording of a phone call Ajit Pawar made six minutes before the crash was released by his cousin Shrijit Pawar.
An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau report, released on a Saturday whose calendar date the available reporting does not establish, flagged pilots' non-adherence to standard operating procedures, low visibility and the absence of basic meteorological facilities at the uncontrolled airfield, the Times of reported. A report is not a final finding, and the sources differ on the state of the inquiry: the Indian Express, the Economic Times and the Times of describe the investigation as open, while the Times of reports the findings above. The cause has not been determined.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is investigating and has ordered a special safety audit of M/s VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, according to the Economic Times. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the DGCA is investigating with a parallel probe by the state CID and that the black box has been recovered, the Indian Express reported. Sunil Ramanand, ADG (CID), said the purpose of the CID probe is to determine whether there was foul play, criminal negligence or any criminal act including illegal omission, that AAIB findings will be included in the CID investigation, and that a case will be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita if a criminal angle is established. An accidental death report was initially registered at Taluka police station and the case was later transferred to the CID. None of this constitutes a finding on what happened. The AAIB said the two independent black boxes sustained fire damage and that assistance has been sought from the accredited representative of the state of manufacture for specialised support in cockpit voice recorder data retrieval, the Times of reported; the digital flight data recorder, manufactured by L3-Communications, was successfully downloaded at the AAIB Flight Recorder Laboratory, and the cockpit voice recorder was manufactured by Honeywell.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has alleged the report contains inconsistencies and errors that may shield VSR Ventures and certain DGCA officials, the Times of reported. He said CCTV footage shows the aircraft rolling sharply to the left before impact, contradicting the report's account of a right bank, and that there are no trees at the spot where the report says the aircraft first hit trees; he also raised the absence of the investigator's signature on the report, late filing and modification of the flight plan, a last-minute crew change and extra fuel loading. Air safety expert Capt Amit Singh said photos of the black boxes released by Pawar show no visible signs of severe thermal exposure. Rohit Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures' revenues rose from under Rs 10 crore in 2016 to over Rs 500 crore in 2025 and that VSR Ventures owner V K Singh threatened his team to stop their investigations. Earlier, he alleged a conspiracy could not be ruled out, sought a probe by foreign agencies, gave an hour-long, 54-slide presentation questioning visibility information, a last-minute pilot replacement and a change in Ajit Pawar's itinerary, said the DGCA report of January 28 technically gave a clean chit to VSR, said FIRs were planned against VSR's associates, DGCA officials and the company ARROW, which he said gave flight approval, and said Marine Drive police refused to register his FIR.
The Maharashtra state government has written to the Centre seeking a CBI probe, and Fadnavis said he wrote to the Centre demanding an investigation and that the Ministry of Civil Aviation gave its nod. The NCP submitted a letter to the chief minister seeking a CBI inquiry, citing reported last-minute changes in flight crew composition and apparent anomalies in air traffic control communications. Fadnavis urged against rushing to conclusions. Ajit Pawar split the Nationalist Congress Party in 2023, joining the BJP-led Mahayuti.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
Added the scheduled 8.45 am landing time and the phone-call recording made six minutes before the crash, released by Shrijit Pawar.
Version 310 Aug 2026, 02:43
No new facts; AAIB expanded on first mention and Ajit Pawar's 2023 NCP split added at the close.
Version 210 Aug 2026, 02:32
Added the AAIB preliminary report's flagged factors, Rohit Pawar's detailed objections to it, Capt Amit Singh's comment on the recorder photos, allegations about VSR Ventures' revenues and its owner, and the conflicting reported time of the crash.
Version 110 Aug 2026, 02:23
First published.
Version 110 Aug 2026, 02:17current
First published.
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