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In another tragic accident in the history of aviation, an air ambulance aircraft on its way from Delhi to Ranchi overshot its destination on 23 February, 2026, and crashed in the thick jungle near Simaria in the Chatra district of Jharkhand, killing all seven on board the plane. The medical evacuation flight tragedy occurred several minutes after takeoff, which highlights the increase in safety concerns.

On 29 September 2013, a Beechcraft C90 aircraft (registration VT-AJV) operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off with a critically injured burn victim (with 60-65% burns) on board, to be transferred to a Delhi hospital where the treatment is of high quality, at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi, at 7:11 pm with a pilot and a doctor (two pilots, a doctor, a paramedic, and two attendants/family members).

The plane had made contact with the Kolkata ATC, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, seeking a deviation because of poor weather conditions because of thunderstorms and strong gusts, but it lost contact and radar connections around 7:34 pm, some 23 minutes into the flight, some 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi.

The leader was found at the Kasiyatu/Kasaria forest location, which was remote, in the Simaria block, Bariatu Panchayat. District-level rescue troops arrived at the scene where all seven charred bodies were rescued and identified. Chatra DHC Keerthishree G certified no survivors.

The initial reports blame harsh weather as a probable cause, but a complete probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is in progress in order to retrieve the black box and ascertain the actual cause. This crash is part of the recent concerns on aviation safety in India, where there are calls to tighten the rules related to weather-related operations and medical charters.

The tragic end of the life-saving mission has attracted a huge amount of sorrow; the tributes have been piling up to the medical team, as well as to the patient whose last ride to the closest destination was a tragic one. Leaders have promised an in-depth investigation as a way of ensuring that this does not happen again in this crucial provision.