Baramati plane crash | Who were pilots Sumit Kapur and Shambhavi Pathak, flying Ajit Pawar's aircraft?

An aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, including two crew members crash landed at the Baramati airport, killing all five persons on board, as per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The Pilot in-command, Captain Sumit Kapur, and First Officer, Shambhavi Pathak were were experienced professionals with over 15,000 hours of flying under their belt. Their identities were confirmed by the aircraft operator, VSR Aviation.

Shambhavi Pathak was the daughter of an Army officer. She had completed her studies from Air Force Bal Bharati School and had a BSc in Aeronautics, Aviation, and Aerospace Science and Technology from the University of Mumbai.

She later got aviation training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy.

Captain Sumit Kapur, the Pilot-in command, was the senior-most crew member in the flight, and was responsible to make all the key decisions inside the aircraft, including landing, emergency and other details.

As reported by the India Today, VSR Aviation’s top official VK Singh, said both pilots were based in Delhi and had logged extensive flying hours.

The aircraft pilots, however, had mentioned about poor visibility near the runway, before the aircraft attempted the landing.

The Learjet 45 (LJ45), a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace, went off the runway while attempting to land at Baramati airport and burst into flames. It took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am, according to the flight radar.

The ill-fated aircraft carrying 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, as per a PTI report quoting an eyewitnesses.

Moreover, the DGCA has launched a detailed investigation into the crash.