Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar on Wednesday died in a tragic plane crash in Baramati. He was going for a public meeting when his private jet crashed during landing. Four other persons, who were on board the flight, died in the mishap.
This is not the first time a prominent political figure has died in a plane crash. In the past, several leaders, including Sanjay Gandhi, Madhavrao Scindia, Vijay Rupani and YS Rajasekhara Reddy lost their lives in similar incidents. However, there have been rare occasions when leaders have survived such crashes. Much to the surprise of many, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai was one of those rare survivors.
Morarji Desai’s miraculous escape
Morarji Desai narrowly escaped death in a dramatic plane crash on November 4, 1977, when an aircraft carrying him crash-landed in a remote paddy field in Assam’s Jorhat district.
The Russian-built Tupolev Tu-124 aircraft had taken off from Delhi’s Palam airport for Jorhat on an official visit to the Northeast. As the plane prepared to land in the evening, it suddenly gained altitude instead of touching down. The runway lights faded from view, followed by a loud, heavy impact. The aircraft shook violently as it overshot the runway and crashed far from the airstrip.
The cockpit broke away from the rest of the aircraft in the crash. Two pilots and three crew members were killed in the accident, making it one of the most serious aviation tragedies involving a serving Indian Prime Minister.
Morarji Desai, who was 81 at the time, was pulled out of the wreckage and quickly moved to safety. Despite the chaos, debris, and fire that broke out some distance from where the aircraft came down, he remained calm and composed throughout the ordeal.
Also on board the ill-fated flight were Congress leader PK Thungon, a senior Intelligence Bureau official, Desai’s son Kantibhai and noted social worker Narayan Desai. All of them survived the crash.
Witnesses recalled that even after being rescued, Morarji Desai repeatedly assured those around him that he was fine. He urged officials to first take care of the injured, showing remarkable presence of mind in the face of disaster. For security reasons, he was later taken to a nearby house.
Preliminary accounts of the incident indicated that the aircraft missed the designated landing strip during its first attempt. While trying to land again, it struck a concealed tall tree, tearing off parts of the aircraft’s left side and leading to the fatal crash.
