Neelam Mathews

India’s aviation sector sustained two serious accidents within a 24-hour period this week. On Monday, a Redbird Airways Beechcraft King Air C90 air ambulance (VT‑AJV) crashed in Jharkhand, killing all seven on board. The next day, a state‑owned Pawan Hans Dauphin ditched about 900 feet short of the Mayabunder helipad in the Andamans; all seven inter‑island passengers survived.
The back‑to‑back events have sharpened scrutiny on operational standards, weather decisions, and technical reliability across India’s smaller commercial and medevac fleets. In an online meeting, India Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Faiz Ahmed Kidwai warned nonscheduled operator permit charter and air‑taxi operators that run on-demand flights to tighten compliance or risk losing permits.
India Business Aircraft Operators Association managing director R.K. Bali told members, “As business aviation operators connecting many uncontrolled airfields with limited weather and advisory support, we must ensure safety is never compromised…As the pre-monsoon season approaches, I urge you to conduct internal safety audits and reinforce strict crew briefings.”
The Redbird air ambulance twin turboprop had been airborne barely 20 minutes on the Ranchi–Delhi leg when the crew requested a weather deviation from Kolkata ATC, then lost radar and radio contact before crashing into terrain. The aircraft was not required to have cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
There were few details about the Pawan Hans helicopter crash at press time. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and DGCA have opened a full probe into both accidents.

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