7 Killed as Air Ambulance Crashes in Jharkhand

All seven people on board a medical evacuation flight from Ranchi to Delhi were killed after the aircraft crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday night.

Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G confirmed that there were no survivors in the crash near Simaria. Earlier reports had mentioned one fatality, but officials later clarified that all seven passengers and crew members died in the incident.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Shubham Khandelwal said that the bodies of all seven victims have been recovered from the crash site.

Victims Identified

The deceased have been identified as:

• Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat (Pilot-in-Command)

• Captain Savrajdeep Singh (Co-pilot)

• Sanjay Kumar (41), the patient

• Archana Devi, attendant

• Dhuru Kumar, attendant

• Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta

• Sachin Kumar Mishra, paramedic

Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, had suffered 65% burn injuries. He was initially admitted to Devkamal Hospital on February 16 in critical condition. Later, his family decided to shift him to a higher medical centre in Delhi for advanced treatment.

Dr Anant Sinha, Chief Plastic Surgeon at Devnika Hospital in Ranchi, said Kumar was discharged around 4:30 pm on Monday and taken to the airport for the evacuation flight.

Aircraft Details and Timeline

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Beechcraft C90, registered as VT-AJV and operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd. It was on a medical evacuation mission from Ranchi to Delhi.

The flight departed Ranchi at 7:11 pm and was expected to land in Delhi around 10 pm. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at 7:34 pm, about 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi.

Investigation Underway

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has sent a team to investigate the cause of the crash. Officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry’s investigative wing are also expected to visit the Redbird Aviation office in Delhi to collect safety audit reports and other important documents related to the aircraft and its operations.

Redbird Aviation Managing Director Akshay Kumar said that all the company’s aircraft had recently undergone a special audit following a previous crash in Baramati. He also stated that both pilots were experienced and that there had been communication with Ranchi ATC indicating bad weather at the time of departure.