Captain Shambhavi Pathak, who was serving as the pilot-in-command, came from a defence background and was the daughter of an Army officer. Two young women, cabin crew member Pinky Mali, 29, and pilot-in-command Captain Shambhavi Pathak, were among the five people killed when a chartered Learjet 45 carrying Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar crashed on Wednesday morning.
The crash happened as the plane was attempting to land at Baramati airport. The aircraft, Learjet 46 flying from Mumbai to Baramati, burst into flames moments after overshooting the runway during its second landing attempt, leaving no survivors. Soon after the crash, the final conversation between Pinky Mali and her father, Shivkumar Mali, has emerged, where he promised to speak to the father “tomorrow”.
Pinky, a resident of Worli in Mumbai, told her father he was travelling to Baramati the next day with Ajit Pawar. “Papa, I am flying to Baramati tomorrow (Wednesday) with DCM Ajit Pawar. After dropping him, I will go to Nanded and will speak to you once I reach the hotel…” Shivkumar, said, recounting his last conversation with his daughter.
Pinky Mali, a Mumbai-based cabin crew member, lived with her family in Worli and was on duty for the chartered flight. Originally from Bhainsa village in Jaunpur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Pinky had completed her schooling and higher education in Thane before joining the aviation sector.
Her father said that she had flown with the President, chief ministers and several political leaders. She was flying with Ajit Pawar for the fourth time. Her sudden death has plunged both her Mumbai neighbourhood and her native village into grief. Family members said Pinky had spoken to her father and brother earlier that morning, sounding cheerful and excited, with plans to help arrange a meeting with Ajit Pawar once she reached Baramati. That call turned out to be her final conversation.
Her father, Shiv Kumar Mali, a Shiv Sena leader based in Maharashtra, said there was no communication from her after the flight took off. Pinky is survived by her parents, brother Karan, and sister Preeti.
Who was Captain Shambhavi Pathak?
Captain Shambhavi Pathak, who was serving as the pilot-in-command, came from a defence background and was the daughter of an Army officer. She completed her schooling at Air Force Bal Bharati School before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from the University of Mumbai.
She later underwent professional flight training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy and had completed the theoretical requirements for a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence. Captain Pathak was flying alongside Captain Sumit Kapoor, an experienced pilot with over 16,000 hours of flying experience. Both were operating the Delhi-based VSR Aviation chartered aircraft.
Company officials said the jet was technically fit and maintained as per regulatory standards, indicating that poor visibility during landing may have played a role in the crash.
