On Monday evening, a chartered air ambulance flight that was flying between Ranchi and Delhi crashed in the Chatra district of Jharkand and all seven occupants of the plane lost their lives in a tragic accident that has rocked the state.
The plane was a Beechcraft C90 that was flown by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, taking off at approximately 7:11 pm at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi. It was a flight that was bound for Delhi that had a critically injured patient, medical personnel, and crew members on board on a mission of medical evacuation.
The aviation officials stated that the plane lost touch with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) 20-25 minutes after takeoff. The plane was said to have vanished off radar soon after the loss of communication. Later, the authorities established that the plane had crashed in a remote forest cover at Bariatu Panchayat of the Chatra district of the Simaria region.
The first signs of the crash were fire and smoke, which were reported by local villagers, and this drew the attention of the authorities. Police departments, district administration officers, and emergency workers came to the scene. The nature of the terrain and dark conditions made rescue operations difficult. Teams were, however, able to salvage all seven bodies of the crew after the crash at the end of the night.
The victims of the crash were two pilots, a doctor, a paramedic staff member, the patient and two attendants. The patient was a 41-year-old man with advanced medical treatment who was being transported to Delhi with serious burn injuries.
There are initial reports that the plane might have encountered bad weather soon after takeoff. It was reported that the pilots had already requested deviation of their route because of weather disturbances even before they lost contact. Nevertheless, it is not known what the actual cause of the crash was.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have initiated an official investigation into the accident. Pilot data, maintenance, weather, and other technical issues will be investigated by the officials to define what caused the tragedy.
The state officials realized their profound apologies to the families of the victims and promised to support them fully. The occurrence has rekindled issues related to the standards of aviation safety in chartered and medical evacuation flights, especially in difficult weather conditions.
The investigation is still going on, and as more information becomes known, there will be updates.
