Firefighters at the site after an aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed during landing, at Baramati in Pune district, Maharashtra, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026
Credit: PTI Photo
The ill-fated aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar appeared "a bit unstable in the air" and exploded the moment it crashed on the ground near Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday morning, PTI reports woman eyewitness.
Another person who witnessed the incident said that after the crash, the aircraft burst into flames, followed by four to five consecutive blasts.
Pawar (66) and four other persons were killed after their aircraft crashed near Baramati at 8.50 am, as per officials.
According to latest reports, Ajit Pawar was on board a LearJet 45, numbered VTSSK/LJ45, and was chartered from Mumbai to Baramati, where he was to addresses four meetings and rallies in the run-up to the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections.
The woman said she noticed the aircraft in the morning as it circled the Baramati airport.
"It took a round in the air, appeared a bit unstable and as it was approaching the runway to land, it hit the ground hard and exploded. There was a loud sound and could be heard at our home," the woman told a news channel.
She said several parts of the aircraft were hurled into the air after the explosion and fell near her house. "The plane tilted before coming down. We saw the explosion and it was frightening," she said.
Another eyewitness also said the aircraft appeared to be losing control as it descended.
"The way the plane was coming down, we felt it was going to crash. It was around 100 feet above the runway. As we rushed towards it, we saw flames, followed by four to five consecutive blasts, which prevented us from going anywhere near the aircraft," he told reporters.
"It was a major fire. We later learned that Pawar was on the aircraft. It was shocking for us," he added.
According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am.
With PTI inputs