Among the aspects under investigation is whether a faulty onboard weather radar caused the Beechcraft C90 King Air to deviate fatally from its planned route.
The medical evacuation aircraft that crashed in Jharkhand on Monday night, killing all seven people on board, had no black box, officials familiar with the matter said, according to a Hindustan Times report. This is likely to pose a major challenge in determining the cause of the crash.
Civil aviation rules do not require cockpit voice recorders (CVR) or flight data recorders (FDR) for aircraft weighing below 5,700 kg. An industry expert said the accident will have to be examined through communication records with air traffic control, analysis of the wreckage and eyewitness accounts.
Weather radar under probe
Among the aspects under investigation is whether a faulty onboard weather radar caused the Beechcraft C90 King Air to deviate fatally from its planned route.
Two commercial flights operated by Air India and IndiGo had faced adverse weather on the same route earlier and sought deviations. The IndiGo flight requested a left deviation, while the crashed aircraft sought a deviation to the right. Officials are probing whether the weather radar on the crashed aircraft was functioning properly and whether the crew misread the radar or if the instrument malfunctioned.
Aircraft and crew details
The aircraft, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was flying from Ranchi to Delhi when it crashed in the Kasaria area of Chatra district.
Those on board were patient Sanjay Kumar, 41, a doctor, a paramedic, two attendants and two pilots. The pilot in command, Vivek Vikash Bhagat, had around 1,400 flying hours. First officer Savrajdeep Singh had around 450 hours.
The aircraft was manufactured in 1987. Redbird Airways acquired it in 2022 from Orient Flying School, which had bought it in 2001. Another official said the aircraft had remained unused between 2018 and 2022, though the reason could not be independently verified. The flying school had regarded it as a non-revenue-generating asset.
Investigation till now
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had ordered a special audit of charter jet operators after a Learjet ferrying Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister crashed in Baramati last month, killing all on board. It was not clear whether Redbird Airways was audited. An email seeking comment did not receive a response.
An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau team has been sent to the crash site. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu expressed condolences on X, saying he was deeply pained by the loss of lives and that local authorities and AAIB teams had responded for rescue and investigation.
Eyewitness accounts
Aviation expert Mark Martin, quoted by Hindustan Times, said eyewitness testimony would be critical. He noted that some operators of aircraft below 5,700 kg voluntarily install FDR and CVR, but the Beechcraft C90 is an old aircraft and regulations at the time were less evolved.
He said investigators would rely heavily on eyewitness accounts to determine whether the aircraft went nose-down after entering clouds, whether there was a fire, or whether severe weather conditions such as updrafts or downdrafts affected it.
Flight path and last contact
According to the DGCA, the aircraft departed Ranchi at 7.11 pm and was expected to land in Delhi around 10 pm. Ranchi ATC handed it over to Kolkata Area Control shortly after departure.
The aircraft was expected to cross the ATALI waypoint but deviated from its route. The last radar contact was at 7.22 pm, when it was at 13,800 feet and around 40 nautical miles from Ranchi.
