Exact moment when Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's aircraft crashed: CCTV footage here

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has died in a plane crash on Wednesday (Jan 28). His chartered plane crashed at Baramati Airport during landing. The fatal incident was captured on CCTV. The plane was a Learjet 45XR operated by VSR Ventures. According to reports, the DGCA said that aircraft encountered "severe technical difficulties and instability" during its final approach, despite having clearance to land. According to eyewitnesses quoted in several reports, the aircraft was making "a lot of noise" before it slid off the runway at the threshold, veered into an adjoining field, and suffered a massive explosion. Some reports also said that the aircraft was on its second landing approach when the pilot lost control.

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CCTV video here

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Plane crash and aftermath

The Learjet 45 aircraft had departed from Mumbai’s GA Terminal at 8:10 am and crashed around 8:45 AM in Baramati. An investigation has been launched by India’s civil aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Maharashtra has declared a state mourning for three days. All government offices will remain closed, and the national flag will be flown at half-mast.

Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. There were five people on board, including three passengers, one pilot, and one crew member.