Grief envelops home of Shambhavi Pathak

A pall of grief hung over the Safdarjung Enclave residence of Captain Shambhavi Pathak on Wednesday, curtains drawn and visitors moving in silence, as her mother, who was planning to get her married, grappled with the devastating loss of her daughter in a plane crash in Maharashtra’s Baramati earlier in the day.

Pathak, aged around 25 years, was one of the five people killed in the crash of a VSR Ventures Learjet 45 that had Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on board. The aircraft that had taken off from Mumbai crashed minutes before its scheduled landing, officials said.

At Pathak’s southwest Delhi home, her mother, a teacher at the Air Force Bal Bharati School, was inconsolable. Her father, a retired Army pilot, travelled to Pune following the tragedy. The couple, both in their late 40s, was planning their daughter’s marriage, locals said. Pathak’s younger brother, aged around 22, is in the Navy.

Shilpi, 40, who runs a beauty parlour in the locality, broke down while recalling her interactions with Pathak. “She was an extremely sweet woman, innocent and very soft-spoken. She last came to my parlour about a month and a half ago.

“Her mother was thinking of getting her married and was looking for prospective grooms. I had even thought of her as a match for my son, who lives in Canada. It did not materialise, but I really loved her and her family. They were very well-behaved and had a good standing in the locality. She was really bright,” Shilpi said.

Jitendra, a security guard who has worked in the area for four decades, said the family moved into the neighbourhood five years ago.

“Whenever Shambhavi would see me, she would always greet me with a namaste. The family was really nice to everyone. They took part in community gatherings and treated everyone with dignity,” he said.

Another man who has been washing her father’s car for the last one year described Pathak as “sweet and nice”, adding that her father had always treated him kindly.

Pathak was associated with VSR Ventures since 2022 as the first officer. She studied at the Air Force Bal Bharati School before undergoing flight training in New Zealand, where she earned a commercial pilot licence.

She later completed her BSc in aeronautics from the University of Mumbai and held a “Frozen ATPL”, along with multiple aviation certifications, including a Flight Instructor Rating.

Locals said the neighbourhood had never witnessed such sorrow. “We saw her grow into a confident pilot. This is a huge loss,” a neighbour said.