India, Jan. 28 -- Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, 66, was killed on Wednesday after the aircraft carrying him crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The Learjet 45, flying from Mumbai to Pawar's hometown, burst into flames moments after crash-landing near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board.

Besides Ajit Pawar, the victims included his personal security officer Vidhit Jadhav, flight attendant Pinki Jadhav, and pilots Sumit Kapur and Shambhavi Pathak.

The crash occurred around 8.48 am, prompting immediate deployment of investigation teams from the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, while the Maharashtra governmen...