Ajit Pawar’s Last Journey Ends in Baramati: Fog, Low Visibility, and Lapses Under Probe in Plane Crash

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 29th January 2026: Baramati, the political stronghold of Ajit Pawar where his influence reigned for decades, became the place of his final farewell today. The Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president, who had been elected eight times as MLA and once as MP, lost his life in a tragic plane crash while attempting to land at Baramati Airport on Wednesday morning.

Ajit Pawar’s chartered aircraft took off from Mumbai at around 8.10 am and reached Baramati in about 40 minutes. However, during the final moments of landing, the aircraft met with an accident. The pilot made one attempt to land but could not see the runway. On the second attempt, at around 8.46 am, the plane crashed near the runway.

Preliminary reports indicate that visibility at the time was around 3,000 metres, whereas a minimum of 5,000 metres is required for visual landing at Baramati, which has only a visual-approach runway.

Key Questions on the Crash
Investigators are examining three major aspects:
• Was the crash caused by technical failure or bad weather?
• Were landing rules and procedures followed?
• Did confusion between manual and instrument procedures play a role?

To understand this, past accident reports by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) related to Baramati Airport have been studied.

What Past Reports Say
Baramati has only one runway (11/29), meant primarily for pilot training and visual approaches. According to AAIB, the airport should only be used when visibility is 5 km or more. In lower visibility, landing becomes dangerous as Baramati lacks advanced instrument landing systems.

Former DGCA flight inspector Capt. Prashant Dhalla said that Baramati experiences “radiation fog” between 2 am and 9 am in winter, forming a low cloud layer. “Bad weather could be a major factor in this accident. The pilot reportedly tried to land twice. The second attempt ended in disaster,” he said.

Eyewitness Pintu Sarde told reporters that heavy fog covered the area. “We couldn’t see anything clearly. The plane tried once, then came again and crashed near the runway. There was fire everywhere,” he said.

Lapses Highlighted
Two major lapses have emerged from early findings:
• Baramati Airport does not have an automatic weather reporting system. Pilots rely on forecast data from Mumbai, nearly 200 km away, which may not reflect local conditions.

• There was no staff present at the local tower at the time of landing, depriving the crew of real-time weather inputs.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the plane last transmitted a signal at 8.43 am while attempting to land on Runway 11.

Manual vs Instrument Confusion
Experts suspect the crash may have occurred due to confusion between visual and instrument landing procedures. Baramati is designed only for visual approaches, but visibility was below the minimum threshold. AAIB reports note that basic runway markings at visual-only airfields are not suitable for jet operations.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said the crash would be investigated in a transparent and accountable manner. “Initial information suggests very poor visibility at the time of landing. The pilot informed ATC that the runway was not visible,” he said.

Baramati in Mourning
Following Ajit Pawar’s death, markets in Baramati were shut and Mumbai’s NCP office at Nariman Point removed banners and posters. Workers gathered in large numbers, many in tears.

Women’s wing leader Neelam Kambale said, “Dada always smiled when I called him. I tied him a rakhi. Today, we have lost our brother.”

Supporter Suvarna Hande added, “Because of him, people knew me. He told us only one thing – keep working.”

A 57-Year Political Legacy
Baramati has been the Pawar family’s bastion since 1967, when Sharad Pawar was first elected from here. In 1991, the seat passed to Ajit Pawar, who went on to win eight times. Even after his split from Sharad Pawar and claim over the NCP in 2023, Ajit Pawar continued to command strong support in Baramati.

After his death, all bodies were taken to Punyeshlok Ahilyabai Holkar Medical College. Police were deployed to manage crowds. The Maharashtra government has declared a day of state mourning.

Ajit Pawar’s political journey ended where it began — in Baramati — leaving behind a city in silence and a state in shock.