Ranchi plane crash: All seven people on board an air ambulance, including a patient, flying from Ranchi to New Delhi, died after the aircraft crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra on Monday night.
Chatra deputy commissioner Keerthishree G confirmed the death of all seven passengers, news agency PTI reported. The deceased persons have been identified as 41-year-old Sanjay Kumar, the patient who was being transported for treatment with 63 per cent burn injuries, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, two attendants, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar, and two crew members, Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh, both captains.
The Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV, operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, took off from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport at 7:11pm, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
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The aviation watchdog stated that the aircraft “requested for deviation due to weather” after establishing contact with Kolkata. At 7:34pm, the air ambulance lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi.
After losing contact with Kolkata, VT-AJV did not come in contact with either Varanasi air traffic control (ATC) or the Lucknow ATC.
A Varanasi radar replay was carried out, following which the last radar contact was recorded at 7:22pm.
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Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a reason behind the crash. However, the actual reason will be determined only after an investigation, he added, HT reported earlier.
What we know about Redbird Airways
Redbird Airways was founded by Akshay Kumar in 2018 and received its air operator permit to serve non-scheduled flights (charters and air ambulances) in August 2019.
The company provides air ambulance services round the clock for medical evacuation, according to its website. It said the aircraft comes with advanced life-saving equipment, including doctors, attendants, etc.
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According to Redbird Airways’ website, the company has seven aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed in Chatra on Monday night. Its fleets include Embraer Legacy 600, Dassault Falcon 2000, Hawker 850XP, Beechcraft Premier 1, Cessna Citation III-650, Cessna Citation XL560, and King Air C90.
The air ambulance’s crash gains significance against the backdrop of criticism of chartered jet operators and the regulatory framework that is supposed to govern them.
The January 28 crash of a Learjet 45 aircraft in Maharashtra’s Baramati that claimed the lives of five persons, including state deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, had sparked calls for an independent probe.
Earlier, the DGCA announced that it was conducting special audits of all non-scheduled operators, but the reports have not been made public. The aviation watchdog has also not released the report on the findings of its probe into the operator of the crashed Learjet, VSR Ventures.