Two Delhi-based pilots, Pawar's security officer among deceased
New Delhi/Mumbai, Jan. 29 -- The plane crash in Baramati that claimed the life of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar also killed two Delhi-based pilots, a flight attendant and a police head constable serving as his personal security officer (PSO).
The Learjet 45 aircraft -- operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd and registered as VT-SSK -- with five people on board crashed during a second landing attempt on Wednesday morning.
The plane was flown by Sumit Kapoor (62) from Delhi's Rajouri Garden and co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak (25).
Kapoor, who had more than four decades of flying experience, is survived by his wife Cheena, and their son Shiv and daughter Sanya. "He flew several politicians and celebrities in the last two years... He was very experienced and did not have any airs about flying famous people," the family's neighbour said on anonymity.
Shock hung over the Safdarjung Enclave home of Pathak, where the family had moved in only three days ago. "The mother has locked herself in a room. Her father retired from the Indian Air Force. He left for Pune in the morning after getting to know about the incident," said PP Singh, a member of the colony's RWA.
In Mumbai's Prabhadevi, the family of flight attendant Pinky Mali (29) is struggling to come to terms with her death. "Our world collapsed when we heard the news," her father Shivkumar Mali said. Mali last spoke to her parents on Tuesday when she said that she would be going to Baramati with Pawar on Wednesday, and proceed thereafter to Nanded, he said.
The family of Vidip Jadhav, a police head constable and Pawar's PSO, learnt about the crash on the TV. "It was around 9am when we heard loud cries from next door..." said Jadhav's neighbour Chandrakant Sane in Thane's Kalwa area. "When we went there, we saw the news of the plane crash on television and realised Vidip was also among the victims. Soon after, local police officers arrived and took his mother and son to Baramati."...
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