Shambhavi Pathak, pilot of Ajit Pawar’s plane; daughter of army officer, certifications and licenses

MUMBAI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced an investigation into the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar in a plane crash. The aircraft that crashed was Learjet 45, owned by Delhi-based private aviation firm VSR Ventures. A security guard, flight attendant and pilots who were on board the aircraft with Ajit Pawar lost their lives. After the accident, the question arose as to who was flying Pawar's aircraft.

The pilots of the aircraft were Captain Sumit Kapoor and Captain Shambhavi Pathak, both pilots of VSR Aviation. They confirmed that the two, based in Delhi, have extensive experience. Captain Kapoor has 16,000 hours of flying experience and co-pilot Shambhavi has 1,500 hours of flying experience, VSR aviation said. It is reported that the main pilot or first officer of the aircraft carrying Pawar was Captain Shambhavi.

Captain Shambhavi Pathak
Shambhavi of Delhi is the daughter of an army officer. She completed her secondary education in 2018 from Air Force Bal Bharati School, Delhi. She then did her commercial pilot-flight crew training at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy. She also completed her degree in Aeronautics, Aviation, and Aerospace Science and Technology from Mumbai University. She has obtained a Flight Instructor Rating (A) and worked as an Assistant Flying Instructor at the Madhya Pradesh Flying Club. Shambhavi has also obtained a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Licenses and Certificates
• Aviation Security from SpiceJet Limited (2022)
• Jet Orientation Training from Jordan Airline Training and Simulation (2022)
• Commercial Pilot License from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) (2020)
• CAA Commercial Pilot License from Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (2019)
• English Language Proficiency Level 6 from International Civil Aviation Organization (2019)
• Flight Instructor Rating from Madhya Pradesh Flying Club Limited