IndiGo, Air India planes had taken off from Ranchi minutes before air ambulance; managed to combat weather that likely caused crash

The air ambulance crashed on Monday evening

• Two commercial flights left Ranchi safely before the crash
• Redbird air ambulance crashed after take-off in bad weather
• Patient with severe burns was being flown to Delhi for treatment

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Two commercial flights departed safely from Ranchi on Monday night in adverse weather conditions shortly before a Redbird Airways air ambulance crashed moments after take-off, Times of India reported.

The ill-fated aircraft, a Beechcraft C90 bearing registration VT-AJV, was operating as an air ambulance service from Ranchi to Delhi. Shortly after getting airborne, the pilots climbed to 6,000 feet and contacted Kolkata Air Traffic Control to request a deviation due to weather conditions. Soon after that communication, the aircraft crashed.

At the time of departure, Ranchi was experiencing severe weather, including cumulonimbus clouds at an altitude of 3,000 feet.

An IndiGo flight had taken off eight minutes before the air ambulance accident. According to sources, "After getting airborne and in a couple of minutes when the IndiGo aircraft was about 37 km away from Ranchi airport, it had requested a right turn to avoid weather," sources said.

An Air India aircraft had also departed around the same time and reached safety despite the challenging conditions.

While the larger commercial airliners were able to navigate the stormy weather, the smaller Beechcraft C90 went down within minutes of take-off, approximately eight minutes after the other flights had left Ranchi airport safely.

The patient, Sanjay, who was being transported in the air ambulanvce had suffered 65 per cent burn injuries and was being flown to Delhi for advanced medical care.

According to Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, the patient had been undergoing treatment at the facility before the decision was taken to shift him to the national capital. “The patient, Sanjay Kumar (41), a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65 per cent burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital,” he said. The family later opted to transfer him for specialised treatment. “They arranged an air ambulance on Monday. The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm,” he added.