Accidents
Back-to-back Crashes Put India Air Charter under Scrutiny
King Air crash kills seven, while all seven survive a helicopter landing mishap

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.