A tragic incident unfolded in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday evening when an air ambulance en route from Ranchi to Delhi crashed in the remote Kasariya panchayat area. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the Beechcraft C90 aircraft, operated by Redbird Airways Private Limited, carried seven people including a patient, doctor, paramedic, two attendants, a pilot, and a co-pilot.
The flight, a medical evacuation charter, took off from Ranchi at 7:11 PM. It lost contact with Kolkata ATC at 7:34 PM, approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi. Radar data pinpointed the crash site near Karamatand village under Simariya police station, in a dense forest region.
Local residents first alerted authorities after hearing a loud explosion and seeing thick smoke rising from the jungle. District administration swiftly mobilized search-and-rescue teams, joined by police and disaster management units. However, the rugged terrain and thick foliage are posing significant challenges to the operation.
DGCA has dispatched the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team to probe the cause. Senior officials from civil aviation and security agencies are monitoring developments closely. The flight was expected to land in Delhi around 10 PM, but the sudden loss of communication triggered immediate alarms.
As rescue efforts continue into the night, the fate of the seven occupants remains uncertain. Emergency protocols like the ED CAP are tracking real-time data. The aviation community awaits detailed findings from the investigation to prevent future mishaps in such critical medical flights.