New Delhi: Captain Sumit Kapoor was among the 5 people who died in the plane crash in Baramati, which killed NCP leader Ajit Pawar. He was the pilot in command of the ill fated Learjet 45 aircraft which crashed on Wednesday morning. Following the aircrash, new information has come to light, actually Kapoor was not supposed to be flying that plane to Baramati that day.
According to his friends, Kapoor had returned from Hong Kong just a few days back. He reportedly received orders to fly Ajit Pawar to Baramati, just a few hours before the plane was scheduled to take off.
Kapoor was filling in for another pilot
According to a report, Kapoor was tasked with flying Ajit Pawar to Baramati, for election rallies, as the original crew tasked with the job got delayed due to traffic. At around 8 am, Kapoor took off in the Learjet aircraft from Mumbai for Baramati. Pawar was supposed to address election rallies in Baramati, his hometown, for the upcoming civic elections.
His co-pilot was Captain Shambhavi Pathak and there was another crew on board, Pinky Mali who was a flight attendant. Maharashtra Deputy CM< Ajit Pawar and his security guard, Vidip Jadhav were the 2 passengers onboard the plane, which is operated by a Delhi-based company VSR Ventures. All 5 people onboard the plane were killed in the aircrash.
The plane crashed as the pilots were attempting a second landing at the Baramati Airport. Following the crash, a high level enquiry was initiated by the government. Sources quoted by NDTV, said that a “possible pilot misjudgement” while landing amid poor visibility on the runway might have caused the crash. They also said that apart from human error, they are also investigating whether there was some technical snag with the aircraft.
Friends demand proper investigation
Friends of Kapoor however are not ready to take this theory of “pilot misjudgement” having caused the airplane crash. They said that the pilot in command, their friend Sumit Kapoor, had extensive flying experience. Chances of him making a misjudgement were negligible.
They said that Kapoor loved flying more than anything else. They also remembered him as a “very kind” person.
They demanded a proper investigation in the case.
Talking about his family, Kapoor is survived by his son and daughter, daughter-in-law and son-in-law. Both his son and son-in-law are pilots, said his friends. He also has a brother, who is a businessman based in Gurugram.
The body of the pilot was identified by a bracelet he was wearing, said one of his friends, Sachin Taneja. Another friend said that no one could believe that Kapoor had died, when they heard about the crash.