Ajit Pawar plane crash: Visibility, bird hit or technical glitch? Aviation expert breaks down tragic incident

Aviation expert Subhash Goyal has outlined several possible factors that could have contributed to the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, based on media reports and information available so far.

The crash occurred near a small airport outside Pune that does not have computerised Air Traffic Control (ATC) facilities.

“For this crash, or any crash, there are four possible reasons,” Goyal told news agency PTI. “One is a sudden technical glitch. Second is if the landing gear is not deployed. Third is a bird hit. And fourth could be a sudden drop in visibility. Any of these possibilities could have played a role in this case.”

Goyal noted that pilots routinely undergo medical examinations and aircraft are thoroughly inspected before take-off. He also pointed out that ATC usually provides guidance to pilots during landing, particularly in low-visibility conditions. However, the airstrip near Pune is operated by a flying club, meaning the pilot would have had to rely largely on visual assessment while landing.

“Under ATC control, a pilot can even land with minimal visibility, but here that guidance was absent,” Goyal said. “It is possible the pilot did not see the airfield at the last moment, or, in rare cases, a person can even black out.”

Authorities are continuing to investigate the crash, examining technical, operational and environmental factors to determine the exact cause.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday after the private chartered aircraft he was travelling in crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport.

The sudden accident brought an end to the career of a politician who rarely operated on the fringes of power. Over several decades, Pawar remained firmly at the centre of Maharashtra’s political landscape, navigating shifting alliances and changing governments while retaining influence across administrations.

Born on July 22, 1959, in Deolali Pravara in Ahmednagar district, Pawar grew up in an environment where public life was part of everyday routine. His early years were shaped by the cooperative ecosystem that underpins politics in western Maharashtra — sugar factories, milk unions and local banks — long before he became a familiar presence in Mantralaya and the state’s power corridors.