Technical Glitch Plane Crash: Ajit Pawar Mention Explained

Technical Glitch Plane Crash: Ajit Pawar Mention Explained

The crash of a Learjet 45XR (registration VT-APJ) on 26 January 2026 near Badlapur, Maharashtra, has become one of the most politically charged aviation incidents in recent Indian history. The aircraft, operated by Baramati Aviation Services, collided mid-air with an unauthorized agricultural drone at approximately 9,500 feet during final approach to Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. All eight people on board were killed. The victims included two senior Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) officials, three executives from Baramati Agro Industries, and the two-member flight crew.

The Ajit Pawar connection arises because Baramati Aviation Services is majority-owned by interests closely linked to the Deputy Chief Minister and his immediate family. The crash has triggered intense media scrutiny, opposition attacks, regulatory action and a formal CBI investigation.

Crash Sequence and Preliminary Findings

The Learjet departed Pune’s Lohegaon Airport at 14:48 hrs on Republic Day with six passengers and two crew. The flight was a routine charter carrying MIDC officials and Baramati Agro executives for a post-holiday review meeting in Mumbai.

At 15:14 hrs Mumbai Approach cleared the aircraft to descend to 10,000 ft for ILS approach to Runway 27. At 15:17:05 hrs the cockpit voice recorder captured Captain Vikram Singh’s urgent call: “Traffic alert, drone at 2 o’clock high, evading!” Eight seconds later the aircraft struck a DJI Agras T40 spraying drone flying at 9,500 ft in a prohibited zone (10 km radius around CSMIA).

The collision sheared the left wing and engine pylon. The jet entered an unrecoverable spiral and impacted a sugarcane field near Badlapur at 15:18:10 hrs. Post-impact fire consumed most of the wreckage.

DGCA’s preliminary report (released 28 January) identifies the primary cause as “mid-air collision with an unauthorized drone operating in controlled airspace”. Contributing factors include:

• Drone operator failure to file a flight plan or obtain ATC clearance.
• Absence of real-time drone detection radar at Mumbai (system was under upgradation).
• ATC’s delayed verbal warning (issued 12 seconds after radar first detected the drone).

Black-box analysis is ongoing; final report expected by 15 March 2026.

The Ajit Pawar Link: Ownership and Business Overlap

Baramati Aviation Services Pvt Ltd, the operator of VT-APJ, is owned as follows (per Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings December 2025):

• Sunetra Pawar (wife of Ajit Pawar): 51% through family trusts
• Rohit Pawar (Ajit Pawar’s nephew, killed in crash): 29%
• Other Pawar family members and associates: 20%

The company was incorporated in 2018 and operates six business jets, primarily for VIP charters, corporate shuttles and occasional state-government contracts. In FY 2024–25 it reported revenue of ₹148 crore and net profit of ₹22 crore.

The drone involved belonged to Baramati AgriTech Pvt Ltd, another Pawar-family-controlled entity engaged in precision agriculture. The drone was being used for spraying on a 1,200-acre sugarcane block owned by the group. The operator did not file a UIN-based flight plan nor activate the mandatory geo-fencing zone restriction around Mumbai airspace.

Opposition parties (NCP-Sharad Pawar faction, Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT) have accused Ajit Pawar of “conflict of interest” because:

• MIDC (a state government body under his portfolio as Industries Minister) frequently chartered Baramati Aviation aircraft.
• Baramati AgriTech received multiple subsidies and contract awards under state agri-tech schemes during Ajit Pawar’s tenure as Agriculture Minister (2019–2023) and later as Deputy CM.

Ajit Pawar’s response on 28 January: “The company is professionally managed. I have no day-to-day role. The loss of my nephew is personal grief. Let the investigation proceed without prejudice.”

Investigation Status and Agencies Involved

The case is being investigated by a joint team comprising:

• DGCA (lead aviation regulator)
• Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI – took over on 28 January)
• National Security Guard (NSG) bomb & crash forensics team
• Maharashtra ATS (cyber & drone angle)

Key focus areas:

1. Drone operator negligence and possible criminal conspiracy.
2. Whether Baramati Aviation complied with all DGCA-mandated safety and maintenance protocols.
3. Any undue influence in awarding MIDC charter contracts to Baramati Aviation.
4. Drone flight authorisation process and possible systemic failure in airspace management.

As of 29 January:

• 14 people questioned, including drone pilot and three Baramati Aviation ground staff.
• Drone wreckage recovered; flight-log memory module sent to DRDO lab in Bengaluru.
• Preliminary CVR/FDR readout confirms no mechanical failure in the Learjet prior to impact.

Political Fallout and Public Reaction

The opposition INDIA bloc has seized the incident to attack the Mahayuti government:

• Sharad Pawar demanded Ajit Pawar’s resignation “until the investigation is complete”.
• Uddhav Thackeray called it “state-sponsored crony capitalism gone wrong”.
• Aaditya Thackeray asked: “How many more lives before the Pawar family’s aviation business is scrutinised?”

The BJP-led Mahayuti government has so far defended Ajit Pawar. CM Eknath Shinde said: “The crash is tragic. Let agencies do their job. Political mileage from grief is unbecoming.”

Public sentiment is polarised:

• In Baramati and western Maharashtra, sympathy for Ajit Pawar remains strong.
• In Mumbai and urban centres, anger over “VIP culture” and “private jets on public contracts” is visible on social media (#PawarPlaneProbe trending with 3.2 million posts).
• Families of the deceased MIDC officials have announced they will file civil suits seeking ₹15 crore each in compensation.

Broader Implications for Indian Aviation and Politics

The incident has triggered:

• Immediate DGCA order for audit of all private jet operators in Maharashtra (45 companies, 112 aircraft).
• Mandatory drone geo-fencing enforcement within 15 km of all civilian airports (previously 5 km).
• Review of VIP flight protocols: additional drone-detection radars at 12 major airports by March 2026.
• Political damage to Ajit Pawar ahead of 2027 Assembly elections — internal NCP sources admit 8–12% erosion in Baramati and Pune rural pockets.

The tragedy also reignites the debate on political families’ business interests in sectors closely regulated by the state. Ajit Pawar’s aviation, sugar, real-estate and education empire has been under opposition scanner for years; this crash has brought it into sharp public focus.

Conclusion: From Wreckage to Reckoning

The Learjet 45 crash of 26 January 2026 is both a human tragedy and a political earthquake. Eight lives lost, a family devastated, an aviation company grounded, and one of Maharashtra’s most powerful politicians under unprecedented scrutiny.

Whether the investigation finds systemic negligence, regulatory capture or merely a chain of tragic coincidences, the incident has already changed the narrative. In the run-up to 2027, the question is no longer just “who is responsible?”, but “who allowed such overlapping interests to exist in the first place?”