Delhi-bound air ambulance with 7 onboard crashes after takeoff from Ranchi

A medical chartered plane carrying seven people crashed shortly after taking off from Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport. The flight was an air ambulance bound for Delhi.
The crashed aircraft was a Beechcraft King Air BE9L operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd.

The plane took off from Ranchi at 7:11 pm and was scheduled to land at Delhi at 10 PM. It lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 7.34 PM.

According to reports, the aircraft went down in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.

The passengers on board the ill-fated air ambulance have been identified as Sanjay Kumar (41), who was being transported to Delhi for emergency treatment, accompanied by his attendants Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar. The medical team supporting the patient included Dr Vikash Kumar Gupta and paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, while the Redbird Airways aircraft was piloted by Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh.

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the statement and said State authorities and the DGCA have initiated search and rescue operations while a team from the AAIB is being dispatched for investigation.

"On 23.02.2026, Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV, operating a medical evacuation (Air Ambulance) flight on sector “Ranchi-Delhi” crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district, in Jharkhand. There were seven people on board, including two crew members. The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. After establishing contact with Kolkata, at 19:34 IST aircraft lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi," the DGCA said in a statement.

(This is a developing story; Further details are awaited)