Faced mid-air scare in 2024 with Fadnavis | Mumbai News

Nagpur: Ajit Pawar had a mid-air scare while flying from Nagpur to Gadchiroli with then deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and industries minister Uday Samant on July 17, 2024. Visibility had dropped to near-zero amid heavy rain, dense fog and dark clouds.After touchdown, a rattled Pawar described how the helicopter wobbled in the clouds and nothing was visible. “When it went into the clouds, I looked around. We couldn’t see the ground or trees. We were flying blindly,” he said. He recalled feeling a knot in his stomach. “It was Ashadhi Ekadashi and I kept chanting the name of Lord Pandurang.” He said Fadnavis sat calmly beside him and continued to chat casually. When Ajit Pawar expressed concern, Fadnavis reassured him, saying he had experienced similar mid-air scares many times before and had always emerged unharmed. —Nikhil Bhute