From Ajit Pawar to Sanjay Gandhi, When Plane Crashes Silenced Global Figures

A fatal plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar has once again drawn attention to how air disasters have abruptly ended the lives of towering figures across the world.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar died on Wednesday in a plane crash at Baramati airport.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, five people, including the crew, were on board the chartered plane flying from Mumbai to Baramati.

All five died after the aircraft crash-landed at 8.45 am at the runway threshold in Baramati. Pawar was travelling with two personnel, one personal security officer and one attendant, along with two crew members.

Pawar was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad elections when the tragedy struck, cutting short a career that shaped Maharashtra’s politics for years.

His death places him among a grim list of prominent personalities whose lives ended in plane crashes, tragedies that stunned nations and altered the course of history.

Vijay Rupani

On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to London, crashed minutes after takeoff, making it one of India’s deadliest aviation accidents in recent years.

241 passengers on board and 19 on the ground were killed. Only one passenger survived the plane crash. Among those killed was former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Rupani was flying to London to meet family when he boarded the Dreamliner flight.

Hours after the crash, Gujarat declared one-day mourning for Vijay Rupani with flags at government buildings flown at half-mast to commemorate his death.

Subhash Chandra Bose

After Second World War adventures that included a dramatic escape from house arrest in India, a meeting with Hitler, an epic journey in a German submarine to Japanese-held Sumatra and the raising of an army of Indians in south-east Asia, Subhash Chandra Bose reportedly died in a plane crash in Taiwan on 18 August 1945.

Zia-ul-Haq

Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq was the Pakistani chief of Army staff, chief martial-law administrator, and president of Pakistan (1978–88).

Zia-ul-Haq's tenure is marked by a controversial legacy, particularly regarding the Islamization of Pakistan, which continues to influence the socio-political landscape today. His sudden death in

a plane crash in 1988 remains shrouded in mystery, adding to the intrigue surrounding his complex and impactful leadership.

Homi J. Bhabha

Full credit for the establishment of India's nuclear research program, and its nuclear weapons program, must be given to Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, a man who throughout his life dominated both the scientific and policy spheres of India's nuclear affairs, first bringing the Indian nuclear program to life and then setting its priorities and direction.

Dr. Homi Bhabha was killed while on a trip to Europe when the plane in which he was flying collided with Mount Blanc.

Sanjay Gandhi

In 1980, politician and son of former Indian PM Indira Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash. Gandhi was traveling with his girlfriend from Gorakhpur to Delhi when the plane carrying him crashed near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi.

At the time of his death, Gandhi was poised to take control of the Congress party from his mother but ultimately died before he could take leadership. Gandhi’s brother Rajiv would later become Prime Minister of India after his mother’s assassination in 1984.

Kobe Bryant

On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed into a hillside in the city of Calabasas, California, around 25 mi (40 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, while en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport.

All nine people on board were killed. Retired professional basketball player and the Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna lost their lives in the tragic mishap.

(With inputs from ANI)