Thursday, March 12, 2026
News

No black box in air ambulance crash in Jharkhand, AAIB team investigates the site

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend    Print this Page   COMMENT

New Delhi | February 25, 2026 1:20:47 PM IST
The Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 (VT-AJV) that crashed in Jharkhand on Tuesday, claiming 7 lives, had no black boxes as the aircraft's maximum takeoff weight is below 5,700 kg, sources said.

According to civil aviation rules, cockpit voice recorders (CVR) or flight data recorders (FDR) are not mandated for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight below 5,700 kg.

A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) investigated the crash site on Wednesday and collected evidence from the wreckage to carry out further investigation.

The Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft, registered VT-AJV, was operating a medical evacuation flight from Ranchi to Delhi when it crashed on Monday evening in Kasariya Panchayat, Simaria block. DGCA officials are collecting evidence from the wreckage to carry out further investigation.

A team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday reached the location of the tragic air ambulance crash in Jharkhand's Chatra district.

Speaking to ANI, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Shubham Khandelwal said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has collected key evidence and will continue investigations tomorrow. He further said that locals reported the aircraft losing balance before it crashed, and recovery and postmortems of all bodies have been completed.

"AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau)'s team had come here. They collected all the documents and evidence they deemed important. They will collect evidence tomorrow as well. They will then inform us of their investigation. The local villagers have also given their statements regarding the manner in which the crash occurred. Locals say that they saw the aircraft losing balance. It crashed 2-3 seconds later. Deployment will continue here. Yes, bodies have handed over, and a postmortem has been done," Khandelwal said to the reporters.

The aircraft had taken off from Ranchi at 19:11 IST and lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi.

As per an official statement from the Council of Indian Aviation, the aircraft had taken off from Ranchi at 19:11 IST and lost radar and communication contact near 100 NM south-east of Varanasi. (ANI)

 
  LATEST COMMENTS ()
POST YOUR COMMENT
Comments Not Available
 
POST YOUR COMMENT
 
 
TRENDING TOPICS
 
 
CITY NEWS
MORE CITIES
 
 
INDIA WORLD ASIA
'NDA Will Form Government in Tamil Nadu'...
Daily wager's son cracks UPSC in first a...
Gujarat farmer drives dairy prosperity t...
CBI issues court notice to Telangana Jag...
Normalcy gradually returns to Tura; Megh...
Parliament Budget Session: Lok Sabha adj...
More...    
 
 Top Stories
Oman Air cancels multiple routes ti... 
"No kissing baby anywhere...": Emin... 
IFL 2025-26: Rajasthan United face ... 
'Family Guy' spinoff series is titl... 
MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh represents ... 
Netflix working on series based on ... 
"No country is untouched by the imp... 
Al Falah Trust PMLA case: ED challe...