Hyderabad: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons were killed after a plane crash in Pune district on Wednesday, January 28.
The incident occurred when the plane carrying Pawar (66) and others landed near Baramati.
List of air tragedies in India
Following is a list of prominent political and public figures who lost their lives in air disasters.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1966)
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the pioneer of India’s nuclear science programme, lost his life on January 24, 1966.
He was travelling on Air India Flight 101 when the aircraft crashed into Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps.
The accident reportedly occurred due to an error in communication with Geneva air traffic control, leading to a fatal navigation issue.
Sanjay Gandhi (1980)
Sanjay Gandhi, a Congress leader and son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, died in a plane crash on June 23, 1980.
The incident took place near Safdarjung Airport in Delhi when the aircraft from the Delhi Flying Club lost control.
GMC Balayogi (2002)
GMC Balayogi, the then Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party, died on March 3, 2002.
The private helicopter carrying him from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district crashed into a pond near Kaikalur in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
KS Sowmya Soundarya (2004)
Renowned South Indian actress K S Sowmya, popularly known as Soundarya, died in an air crash on April 17, 2004.
She was flying from Bengaluru to Karimnagar along with her brother when the aircraft met with an accident. Her sudden demise shocked the film industry and her fans across the country.
OP Jindal and Surender Singh (2005)
Industrialist and Haryana minister Om Prakash Jindal died in a helicopter crash in 2005. He was travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh when the chopper crashed in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Haryana Agriculture Minister Surender Singh was also among those who lost their lives in the same incident.
YS Rajasekhara Reddy (2009)
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, widely known as YSR, died on September 2, 2009.
The Bell 430 helicopter carrying him crashed in the dense Nallamala forest region. The accident was attributed to adverse weather conditions during the flight.
Dorjee Khandu (2011)
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu lost his life on April 30, 2011.
The helicopter transporting him from Tawang to Itanagar crashed in West Kameng district. Four other passengers also died in the tragic incident.
General Bipin Rawat (2021)
India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021.
The aircraft was travelling from Sulur to Wellington when it crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. His wife and 11 other personnel were also on board and lost their lives in the accident.
Vijay Rupani (2025)
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani died in an Air India plane crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. The plane crash had claimed the lives of over 200 people on June 12, 2025.
The aircraft was scheduled to travel from Ahmedabad to London.
Modi, Shah speak to Maha CM after Ajit Pawar plane crash
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah held a telephonic conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis following the plane crash in Baramati involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
PM Modi and HM Shah were briefed about the accident and the latest updates on the situation, according to Maharashtra government officials.
The plane crashed while landing near Baramati. Visuals from the spot show fire and smoke, mangled remains of the plane, and ambulances rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. There were people at the wreckage site trying to extend help in every possible way.
This incident occurred around 9 am, an hour after the plane took off from Mumbai.
A team of DGCA officials has arrived at the plane crash site.
