Pilot didn't send Mayday call before crash: Fresh details emerge in Jharkhand air ambulance mishap

The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening. (Courtesy: PTI photo)

The Delhi-bound air ambulance, which crashed shortly after taking off from Ranchi on Monday evening, reportedly did not give a Mayday distress call before going off radar. Moments before the crash which claimed seven lives, the pilot of the ill-fated flight had sought a deviation due to bad weather.

Although weather advisories had been issued, the crew of the Beechcraft C90 air ambulance did not get in touch with the centre before departure, TOI said in its report quoting officials at the Ranchi meteorological centre.

The Kolkata Air Traffic Control sounded the alert after the aircraft vanished from radar and attempts to reach the captain and co-pilot via radio went unanswered.

"The captain had asked for a weather deviation and was granted. The flight, which was climbing after taking off from Ranchi, had initially asked for an altitude of 16,000 ft," the report said quoting the controller at the Kolkata ATC.

The pilot re-established contact around 7.30pm seeking clearance to climb to 14,000 feet, specifying that the aircraft would not ascend beyond that level. The request was approved. That exchange marked the final communication between the ATC and the cockpit crew. The aircraft disappeared from the radar just four minutes after.

According to an aviation expert, a lightning strike may have affected the transponder and electrical systems of the Beechcraft King Air C90A plane. The low flight level of the aircraft may have also led to interference with its VHF system.

Ranchi meteorological centre head PP Baburaj said that alerts warning of rainfall and thunderstorms were issued twice on Monday morning. "In the morning, a bulletin had been sent out with a forecast for rainfall and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in north-west and central Jharkhand. All pilots should have received the warning. At 5.10 pm, we issued a Nowcast of light thunderstorms with rain in some districts in the northwest sector," he told TOI.

The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest. Sanjay Kumar, who had suffered 65 per cent burn injuries, was being taken to Delhi for advanced treatment in the air ambulance.

Two teams from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) arrived in Ranchi on Tuesday and began a probe into the crash.