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Plane CrashesVersion 2

Five killed in Learjet 45 crash near Baramati; AAIB and DGCA join investigation

The Times of India reported five people on board and five fatalities, including Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jan 28, 2026, 3:52 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 9, 2026, 10:37 p.m. ET
people were killed when a crashed near , in Maharashtra's Pune district, on January 28, 2026, according to The Times of India, an Indian daily newspaper. The paper reported people on board and fatalities, and said Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar was among those killed. The Economic Times reported there were no survivors. The event is still developing and details remain subject to change. The Times of India reported that the aircraft left Mumbai for at 8.11am and contacted air traffic control at 8.18am. On final the pilots twice said the runway was not in sight before reporting it in sight, according to the paper, and the aircraft was cleared to land at 8.43am but the pilots did not acknowledge. The newspaper gave the time of the crash in two forms across its reports — as and as . Flames were seen around the threshold of the runway and the wreckage was located on the left side, the paper reported. Witnesses cited by the newspaper said the aircraft was flying very low, circled the airport once and began spiralling before crashing. Raghu Maruti Atole, a farmer, said its tail hit a tree before it returned towards the airstrip. Fire brigade vehicles could not reach the site directly because there was no metallic road, the paper reported. Two charred bodies were found outside the aircraft and three inside. Sandeep Singh Gill, the superintendent of police for Pune rural, said a special committee will probe the case and that police ran DNA tests to establish the identities of the victims. Police identified the deputy chief minister's body by his wristwatch and by the position of the body on the aircraft, the newspaper reported, and samples were taken from the body for DNA testing. Pune rural police, the CID and forensic experts are involved, along with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and the DGCA. Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar urged that the crash site be sanitised as crowds surrounded the wreckage, according to the reporting. The cause of the crash has not been determined and the investigation is open. Aviation expert Ehsan Khalid, quoted by The Economic Times, said airfield does not have an instrument landing system, and said the pilot in command, Sumit Kapoor, had over 15,000 flying hours; no finding has been made connecting either point to the accident. The aircraft was on when it came down; no registration appears in the available reporting, and it has not been identified beyond its type.

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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.

Terrain elevation
1,873 ft
Nearest aerodrome
9.0 miles W of Baramati Airport (IN-0024)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 210 Aug 2026, 02:37current

    Added AAIB and DGCA to investigating bodies, Economic Times report of no survivors, expert statements on the absence of an instrument landing system at Baramati and the pilot in command's flying hours, and a call to sanitise the crash site.

  2. Version 110 Aug 2026, 02:23

    First published.

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