An air ambulance carrying seven people on board crashed on Monday evening in Jharkhand’s Chatra district after going off radar shortly after takeoff, officials said, triggering a large-scale rescue and search operation.
The Beechcraft C90 aircraft, registered VT-AJV and operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was on a medical evacuation mission from Ranchi to Delhi when contact was lost with air traffic controllers around 19:34 IST — approximately 20 minutes after departure from Birsa Munda Airport. It was reported to have vanished from radar before crashing in a forested part of the Kasaria Panchayat in Simaria block of Chatra.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft had established routine contact with Kolkata Air Traffic Control before requesting a deviation, reportedly due to pending weather conditions. Radar and communication signals were abruptly lost soon after.
State authorities and aviation regulators confirmed that seven individuals were onboard, including two crew members — a pilot and co-pilot — as well as medical personnel, attendants, and a patient being transported for treatment.
📍 Location and Search Efforts
The crash site lies in a dense forest region near Simaria, which has complicated rescue work. Local police, district rescue teams, and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) officials have been dispatched to locate survivors and assess the wreckage.
Ranchi Airport authorities, through their spokesperson, confirmed that initial distress was reported shortly after the aircraft’s departure at about 7:11 p.m. IST. The flight was expected to land in Delhi around 10:00 p.m. but never reached its destination.
🚑 People On Board
While official confirmation regarding casualties has not been made public, local sources and preliminary reports suggest that all seven people on board remain unaccounted for as search teams navigate the isolated crash site.
The flight manifest, as per some media accounts, included:
- The patient, identified in some reports as Sanjay Kumar, a 41-year-old man being airlifted for critical care.
- Two pilots — Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh.
- A doctor and paramedic.
- Two attendants assisting the patient.
📊 Ongoing Investigation
The DGCA has indicated that a formal investigation will be undertaken to determine the cause of the crash, including analysis of flight data, communication logs, and prevailing weather conditions at the time of departure.
Senior officials say that inclement weather cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor, but a conclusive cause will only be known upon detailed probe results.
This tragic incident has raised concerns regarding aviation safety standards for medical evacuation flights, especially during challenging weather windows, and underscores the risks inherent in emergency aeromedical transport.