Ajit Pawar plane crash: Final moments reconstructed using flight data
India Today
India Today analysed flight data and pinpointed the crash site using available footage to show what happened in the final moments before the crash.
On a dull, fog-shrouded January morning, tragedy struck in Pune district as a private aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed while attempting to land. Pawar and four others were killed in the accident, which involved a Learjet 45 aircraft (registration VT-SSK) operated by VSR, near the Baramati area earlier today.
The India Today Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team accessed the flight-tracking details of the aircraft and verified them using two commercial flight data aggregators. As per the flight tracking data, the aircraft appears to have attempted a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed. The crash site
The aircraft was first detected on radar shortly after departing from Mumbai, appearing at around 7:56 am, before becoming airborne at approximately 8:10 am. As it neared Baramati, the jet was on its landing path when it first dropped off radar at around 8:37 am about 20 kilometres from the Baramati airstrip.
Data from the open-source flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 shows the aircraft reappeared on radar less than two minutes later,, at around 8:39 am.The track shows the jet flying in a curved arc, consistent with what seems like a go-around manoeuvre, in which a pilot aborts a landing and climbs to attempt a second approach. The aircraft then disappeared permanently from radar at approximately 8:43 am.
India Today analysed the aircraft’s flight path together with its altitude data to understand the sequence of events leading up to the crash. The combined data shows that the jet was descending steadily as it approached Baramati before its first loss of radar contact.
When the aircraft reappeared at 8:39 am, the data indicates an increase in altitude, consistent during a second approach attempt. After completing the arc, both the track and altitude data show the aircraft descending once again, consistent with a renewed approach for touchdown, before it disappeared from radar for the final time.
India on Monday said it has not held bilateral talks with the United States on deploying naval vessels to secure merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The clarification came after US President Donald Trump urged countries to send warships to keep the strategic waterway open amid tensions with Iran.
After attacking his wife, Nafees attempted suicide by inflicting injuries on himself with the same scissors. Neighbours intervened after hearing the commotion and stopped him from taking his own life.
The victim, identified as Naitik Kumar, allegedly rammed his speeding Bullet motorcycle into a scooter near Janeshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow, triggering a crash that left him dead and two others injured.
RJD MLA who skipped Bihar Rajya Sabha poll voting cites mother's illness
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against the alleged LPG shortage, accusing the PM Narendra Modi-led Centre of failing to ensure adequate supply.
Himayani Puri, daughter of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, has moved the Delhi High Court over "false and malicious" reports linking her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The family, a resident of Thyagaraju Street in Punganur town, had recently repaired the engine of their two-wheeler vehicle. A local mechanic advised the family to keep the engine running overnight to "set" the newly installed parts. However, this turned out to be fatal for the family.
The Supreme Court closed criminal proceedings against Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad after the Haryana government said it would not grant sanction to prosecute him over social media posts related to Operation Sindoor.
Three Congress MLAs in Bihar are reportedly out of contact as voting for five Rajya Sabha seats is underway, with the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA locked in a tight contest for the fifth seat that could hinge on cross-voting.
Bunty Solanki stabbed his wife to death following a quarrel at their residence in Vadodara's Bakrawadi area. Rita died on the spot.
The girl's family members were angered over the friendship, and as a result, they called Jadhav last Saturday evening and allegedly beat him.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that direct talks with Iran to restore shipping through the war-hit Strait of Hormuz have yielded results, stressing that direct engagement with Tehran is the most effective way to address the disruption.
This moment comes days after the Supreme Court allowed Harish Rana to die with dignity – a historic first court-ordered case of passive euthanasia in India. The court acknowledged the medical opinion that Rana will never recover and that the tubes that feed him and keep him alive are only prolonging his pain.