Devastated: Supriya Sule's one-word post on cousin Ajit Pawar's death

Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday said she was "devastated" by the tragic death Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a morning plane crash in Pune’s Baramati. “Devastated,” Sule, Ajit Pawar’s cousin, wrote on her WhatsApp status, which was later deleted.

Shortly after the crash, Supriya Sule left Delhi, where she had been attending the Parliament Budget session, to join Pawar’s family in Baramati. His wife Sunetra and son Parth have also left for the crash site, where the aircraft carrying Pawar and four others crashed, killing all six on board.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati, Sule’s constituency, to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections.

The aircraft, a 16-year-old Bombardier Learjet 45 business jet operated by VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and registered VT-SSK, crashed at 8.50 am, leaving the jet completely destroyed, with debris scattered and smoke rising from the site.

Initial reports indicate the jet faced difficulties during the landing phase, though the exact sequence of events is under verification, as responders found no signs of survival. The aircraft was a twin-engine light jet commonly used for VIP and corporate travel and suitable for regional airports like Baramati.

Flightradar data shows the Learjet took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am, made an unsuccessful first landing attempt at 8.30 am, likely due to poor visibility, attempted a second approach at 8.42 am, and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am, crashing near the threshold of runway 11.

Hours after the crash, VSR Aviation owner VK Singh told India Today TV the aircraft was “100% safe” and flown by an experienced crew, suggesting poor visibility may have contributed, pending DGCA investigation. He confirmed pilots Sumit Kapoor and Sambhavi Pathak were among those killed.

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