Captain Sumit Kapoor filled in for colleague stuck in traffic, wasn't supposed to fly Ajit Pawar

The plane crash happened on Wednesday and killed five people

• Capt. Sumit Kapoor piloted Ajit Pawar's ill-fated Baramati flight last minute.
• All five on board, including Kapoor and Pawar, died in the crash during landing
• Friends demand thorough probe, dismiss pilot error claims given Kapoor's experience.

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New details have emerged about Captain Sumit Kapoor, one of the five people who lost their lives in the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Baramati on Tuesday. According to his friends, Kapoor was not originally scheduled to operate the flight and had stepped in at the last minute after another pilot was delayed.

Kapoor had returned from Hong Kong only a few days earlier and was assigned the Baramati flight just hours before take-off, his friends said. He was asked to fly Pawar from Mumbai to Baramati, where the deputy chief minister was scheduled to attend election-related events.

At around 8 am, Kapoor took off in a Learjet 45 operated by Delhi-based firm VSR Ventures. Pawar and three others were on board. The aircraft crashed at approximately 8:45 am while making a second attempt to land at Baramati Airport. All five occupants were killed, including co-pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant Pinky Mali and Pawar’s security guard Vidip Jadhav.

Sources told NDTV earlier on Wednesday that a preliminary investigation had pointed to a "possible pilot misjudgement" during landing in poor visibility conditions. Officials are also examining whether any technical malfunction contributed to the crash.

Kapoor’s friends, however, rejected suggestions of pilot error, saying he was a highly experienced aviator and that the likelihood of him making a mistake was minimal. They have called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Remembering him, they described Kapoor as a "very kind" person who was deeply passionate about flying. They said aviation was not just his profession but something he genuinely loved.

Friends also spoke about his family, noting that both his son and son-in-law are pilots. His son and daughter are married, and he is survived by a brother who runs a business in Gurugram.

Sachin Taneja, a close friend, said Kapoor’s body was identified by a bracelet on his wrist. Another friend, Naresh Taneja, said the news of his death was difficult to comprehend and that disbelief spread quickly among those who knew him.

GS Grover, also a friend, recalled that Kapoor had spoken to him at length after returning from Hong Kong and had advised him to pay close attention to his health.

As investigations continue, questions remain about how a flight assigned at the last moment ended in tragedy, claiming the lives of all those on board.