Ranchi-Delhi air ambulance crash: Plane sought weather deviation before losing radar contact

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• All 7 aboard Ranchi-Delhi air ambulance died in Jharkhand crash
• Crash site was deep in forest; rescue teams recovered all bodies
• Weather may have caused crash; probe by AAIB is underway

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All seven individuals aboard a Ranchi-to-Delhi air ambulance lost their lives after the aircraft went down in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday evening. Officials confirmed that the plane crashed in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, a location described as deep inside a forest.

According to PTI, Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G said, “All seven on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The plane was on the way to Delhi from Ranchi.” Authorities later confirmed that rescue teams recovered all bodies from the crash site.

The victims included a critically injured patient, medical staff, attendants, and two pilots. The deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, and attendants Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

According to aviation authorities, the Beechcraft C90 aircraft, registered as VT-AJV and operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, departed Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport at 7:11 pm.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that the aircraft “requested for deviation due to weather” after making contact with Kolkata air traffic control. Shortly thereafter, communication and radar signals were lost.

“At 7:34 pm, the air ambulance lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi,” the DGCA noted. It further added that the aircraft failed to establish contact with Varanasi or Lucknow ATC after this point.

A radar replay conducted in Varanasi indicated that the last recorded signal was at 7:22 pm.

The flight was arranged to transport 41-year-old Sanjay Kumar, who had suffered severe burn injuries. He had been undergoing treatment at a Ranchi hospital before his family decided to move him to Delhi for advanced care.

Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital, said the patient had been admitted on February 16 with significant burns. “The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm,” he said, explaining that the family had arranged the air ambulance for the transfer.

While the exact cause of the crash remains unknown, early indications suggest weather conditions may have played a role. Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said, “Inclement weather could be a reason behind the crash, but the actual reason will be determined only after a probe.”

An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team has been sent to the crash site to carry out a detailed inquiry.

Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, a Delhi-based non-scheduled operator, runs charter and air ambulance services. Established in 2018, the company received its air operator permit in 2019.

The airline’s fleet includes multiple aircraft types such as Embraer Legacy 600, Dassault Falcon 2000, Hawker 850XP, Beechcraft Premier 1, Cessna Citation III-650, Cessna Citation XL560, and King Air C90 --the model involved in the crash.

The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of non-scheduled aviation operators and regulatory oversight. A previous crash involving a Learjet 45 in Maharashtra’s Baramati on January 28, which killed five people, had already triggered demands for an independent investigation.

Although the DGCA announced special audits of such operators, the findings have not yet been released. Similarly, the report into the earlier Learjet crash operator remains undisclosed.

Meanwhile, search and rescue teams have completed operations at the Chatra site, and officials await the findings of the formal investigation to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the tragedy.