Ajit Pawar plane crash | 'Did pilot doze off, why didn't they sound 'Mayday' signal': Rohit Pawar suspects sabotage

The state CID is not the proper agency to probe as it does not have necessary wherewithal and the power to investigate within the airports, Pawar said.

Mumbai: Raising multiple issues and concerns vis-a-vis the Baramati Learjet crash that claimed the life of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar, his nephew and NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday sought the possible sabotage angle to be extensively probed besides the record of the pilot and the conduct of the charter company VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd.

It may be mentioned, NCP (SP) supremo and Pawar-family patriarch Sharad Pawar had, after the crash, ruled out conspiracy angle in the tragedy and termed it as an accident.

However, questioning the circumstances and sequence of events, Rohit Pawar, who is an MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed, made it clear that he has full faith in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) but the extent to which the Crime Investigation Department (State-CID) can investigate the incident.

He demanded that the owners and officials of the VSR must be booked for culpable homicide.

So far, the VSR Ventures have not yet responded to the charges made by Rohit Pawar.

After the 28 December 2026 crash at Baramati Airport complex in Pune district, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has asked the DGCA and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to probe the accident that claimed five lives — Ajit Pawar (66), Captain Sumit Kapur, the Pilot‑in‑Command (PIC), Captain Sambhavi Pathak, the Second-in-Command (SIC), Pinky Mali, the Flight Attendant and Vidhit Jadhav, a Mumbai Police Constable, who was Personal Security Officer of the politician.

“People have lost their Dada, I have lost my uncle, we need answers and I will not stop till I get it,” he said at a media meet where he made a detailed power-point presentation.

“The aircraft manufacturer is Bombardier, which is a Canadian aircraft company but this plane (a Learjet 45, belonging to VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, with registration number VT-SSK) was made in the United States. There are agencies like BEA-France (Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety), AAIB-UK (Air Accidents Investigation Branch) and NTSB-US (National Transportation Safety Board) that could be involved looking at their record and experience,” said Rohit Pawar.

“Whether this an accident or sabotage?…many people in Maharashtra and I feel that it could be sabotage…hence it requires proper investigation,” he said, adding that Ajit Pawar's family members must be allowed to hear the details of the Black Box. “We do not believe this was a mere accident. There is room to suspect sabotage,” he alleged.

"The company is trying to control the probe. It is going at a very slow pace. It should be before manipulation and managed and all the contracts of the VSR Ventures should be canceled by the government," he said and asked: “Why Maharashtra chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis), deputy chief minister (Eknath Shinde) and ministers are still using (Learjet) from the same company.”

Probe the pilot

Rohit Pawar questioned the track record of Capt Sumit Kapoor, who was piloting the aircraft on the day of the incident, had faced suspension for three years for alcohol consumption in the past. “Was he put in the breath-analyser test before flying from Mumbai to Baramati,” he asked.

“The original pilots—Sahil Madan and Yash—were reportedly delayed due to traffic. But how did Sumit Kapur and Shambhavi Pathak reach the airport? Were they living nearby?” he said, adding: “Kapur had an experience of 16,000 hours while Pathak had 1,600…but when it came to Learjet, the co-pilot had more experience than the pilot in command.”

He claimed that Kapoor remained silent when the aircraft tilted.

“Why did he demand the difficult Runway 11, and why did he attempt to land despite visibility issues?,” he said and asked why the transponder was put off minutes before the landing.

Raise doubts over VSR, Arrow

Rohit Pawar said that the VSR, which owned the Learjet aircraft carrying the late leader, wielded influence over DGCA officials and could “get away with anything.” “The final probe report of the 2023 Learjet crash in the Mumbai airport involving the Mumbai airport was delayed,” he said and wanted to know as to why the company’s licence to operate was never scrapped. “Not only the VSR, but Arrow, which made the booking should also be questioned,” he said.

Ajit Pawar was to travel the previous night

Rohit Pawar claimed that Ajit Pawar was scheduled to travel to Pune on the evening of January 27 after a Cabinet meeting, and his convoy was ready. “This could be verified through CCTV footage at Deogiri Bungalow, Ajit Pawar’s official residence,” he said, adding: “However, a leader from East Vidarbha arrived with a file related to scrapping a political consultant’s contract, which delayed the meeting. The aircraft booking was done late at night. Ajit Pawar was scheduled to take off at 7 am, yet the plane departed only at 8.10 am,” Rohit Pawar said.

No May Day call

Rohit Pawar said that as per the official versions, after Ajit Pawar reached Mumbai airport at 7.50 am, the flight took at 8:10 am. Ajit Pawar was killed when the Learjet crashed between 8:43 and 8:45 am, just after it overflew Lonavala. But there was no MayDay Call, the transponder had allegedly been switched off, there was a deafening silence in the cockpit as the Push To Talk button was also off. Did the pilot deliberately crash it? All this will emerge only when the Black Box details are released,” he said.