Who Was Captain Shambhavi Pathak? Pilot Among Five Killed in Baramati Plane Crash

Pawar was travelling to Baramati to attend four key meetings ahead of the local body elections scheduled for next month

Digital Desk: Captain Shambhavi Pathak was among the five people who lost their lives in a plane crash on 28^th January, morning in Baramati, Pune district. Pathak was flying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from Mumbai to Baramati when the aircraft crashed just minutes before its scheduled landing.

Pathak was serving as the First Officer with VSR Ventures, a Delhi-based non-scheduled air transport operator. She was part of the flight crew operating the Learjet 45, the small chartered aircraft involved in the fatal accident.

Who Was Shambhavi Pathak?

Captain Shambhavi Pathak completed her secondary education at Air Force Bal Bharati School between 2016 and 2018. She later pursued commercial pilot and flight crew training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics, Aviation, and Aerospace Science and Technology from the University of Mumbai. In addition, she worked as an Assistant Flying Instructor at the Madhya Pradesh Flying Club, holding a Flight Instructor Rating (A).

Pathak was awarded a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), reflecting her advanced qualifications in the aviation sector.

Licences and Certifications:-

·  Aviation Security (AVSEC), SpiceJet Limited – March 2022

·  Jet Orientation Training (A320), Jordan Airline Training and Simulation – February 2022

·  Commercial Pilot Licence, DGCA – May 2020

·  CAA Commercial Pilot Licence, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand – November 2019

·   English Language Proficiency Level 6, International Civil Aviation Organisation – January 2019

·   Flight Instructor Rating, Madhya Pradesh Flying Club Limited

What We Know About the Crash:-

Those on board included NCP chief Ajit Pawar, his personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, two pilots, Sumit Kapur and Shambhavi Pathak, and a flight attendant. All five died in the crash.

Pawar was travelling to Baramati to attend four key meetings ahead of the local body elections scheduled for next month.

According to flight tracking data, the aircraft took off from Mumbai at 8:10 am. Approximately 35 minutes later- around 8:46am, it crashed in a mountainous area near Baramati. The jet reportedly stopped transmitting ADS-B signals about 20 kilometres from Baramati Airport, where it was scheduled to land.