Plane that Ajit Pawar died in had crashed before

Wednesday morning brought tragic news about the loss of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five others in Pune district, India. As India mourned the loss and photos of a decimated plane made rounds on social media, a curious fact emerged: This isn’t the first time the Learjet 45 has crashed; the VSR Ventures’ vehicle also crashed in 2023, reported NDTV.

At the time (Sep 14, 2023), the plane crashed during landing at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport during pouring rain and poor visibility.

It was ferrying six from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai.

The plane ride went well all the way until it began to descend in Mumbai.

"The aircraft established contact with Mumbai tower and was instructed to prepare for landing. The aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 27 and was given landing clearance at 113109 UTC. At the time of landing, Mumbai Airport was experiencing heavy rains and reduced visibility. The winds reported to the crew at the time of landing clearance was WIND 140 DEGREES 7 KTS RWY27," a report by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said at the time.

Today, meanwhile, an investigation is underway to unearth what went wrong.