Homi Bhabha, Sanjay Gandhi, OP Jindal To Ajit Pawar! Prominent Indian Figures List Who Died In Plane Crashes

Indian citizens are worried about the aviation safety after a back-to-back series of lethal air crashes. January 28, 2026, marked yet another shocking day for India as a plane crash claimed the life of Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. The 67-year-old politician was aboard a private jet along with crew members, who were later reported dead at the crash site at Baramati airport.

Ajit Pawar is yet another politician to lose his life in aviation. Last year, it was former chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, who died in a similar condition. And they aren't the only ones. India has a decades-old history of losing notable and prominent figures to plane crashes. These included Sanjay Gandhi, Homi Jehangir Bhabha and many chief ministers of several states.

Here is the list of prominent figures who died in aircraft crash:

2020 To 2026:

January 2026: Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar is the latest to enter the list. DGCA confirmed that the Maharashtra's deputy CM was onboard along with 2 more personnel and 2 crew members in a business jet called VT-SSK, which veered off the runway, crashed, and exploded at the Baramati Airport in Maharashtra, claiming all five lives.

Ajit looked up to his uncle and eventually joined the Indian National Congress. However, one of the biggest shock in Maharashtra's political history was Ajit Pawar's rebel against his own uncle Sharad Pawar. On November 23, 2019, Ajit defected from the NCP and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. He later became deputy CM of the state.

June 2025: Vijay Rupani

Vijay Rupani was the former deputy chief minister of Gujarat from August 2016 to September 2021. He held that title for two consecutive five-years term. He was also the representative in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for the Rajkot West constituency from BJP.

However, he died in the infamous Air India crash in Ahmedabad. He was onboard Air India Boeing 787 which took off from Ahmedabad airport, but crashed shortly after in a residential region near the airport.

December 2021: General Bipin Rawat

General Bipin Rawat was a man of honour for the Indian army. He was a four-star military office and served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 until his death in a helicopter crash in December 2021. The aircraft of was IAF and the crash took place near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.

2000s - 2010s

During this period, a lot of chief ministers lost their lives to plane crashes.

April 2011: Dorjee Khandu

Dorjee Khandu was the former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh since 2007 until his death in a helicopter crash in April 2011. He had also served in the Indian Army Intelligence Corps for seven years, and even received a gold medal for the meritorious service during Bangladesh war.

September 2009: YS Rajasekhara Reddy

YS Rajasekhara Reddy, also popularly called as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009. He was also elected as member of Lok Sabha from 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998, and also served six terms in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Pulivendula. However, he died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. At first the helicopter was missing and it was difficult to confirm his death. However, later on it was confirmed they the plane crashed and all five people onboard died.

March 2005: OP Jindal and Surendra Singh

In this year, both Haryana and Indian steel industry had to let go of prominent figures. Power Minister Om Prakash Jindal was not just a politician but also an Indian industrialist and founder of OP Jindal Group, which is a leading iron and steel producer currently in India. Him along with Haryana chief minister Surender Singh, died in a helicopter crash in March 2005. The two of them were onboard chopper which crashed due to an emergency landing in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

March 2002: G.M.C. Balayogi

G.M.C. Balayogi started his career as a lawyer but soon found his calling in politics. He was the Chairman of the East Godavari Zilla Praja Parishad in 1987 and became the first dalit leader to speak in Lok Sabha. His death was also yet another helicopter crash in Kaikalur, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh. He was aboard a Bell 206 helicopter.

September 2001: Madhavrao Scindia

Madhavrao Scindia was a member of Indian National Congress and minister of Government of India. As per Wikipedia, he was viewed as a potential future prime ministerial candidate before the 1999 Lok Sabha elections in the aftermath of the controversy over Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. Scindia was the son of Jiwajirao Scindia, the last ruling Maharaja of the erstwhile Gwalior State. He died in a private plane crash on September 30, 2001, in Uttar Pradesh.

1960s-2000s:

June 1980: Sanjay Gandhi

Sanjay Gandhi was the younger son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. As per Wikipedia, during his lifetime, he was widely expected to succeed his mother as head of the Indian National Congress and Prime Minister of India, but following his death in a plane crash, his elder brother Rajiv became their mother's political heir and succeeded her as Prime Minister of India and President of the party after her assassination. His wife Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi are politicians in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

January 1966: Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was called the father of the Indian nuclear programme.

He was the first chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). By supporting space science projects which initially derived their funding from the AEC, he played an important role in the birth of the Indian space programme. He was also awarded the Adams Prize (1942) and Padma Bhushan (1954), and nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 and 1953-1956. He died in the crash of Air India Flight 101 in 1966, as per Wikipedia.