Takeoff at 7:11 pm, contact lost 23 minutes later: Jharkhand plane crash timeline and what we know
In the statement issued by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it was stated that the plane lost contact with Kolkata at 7:34pm.
Seven people were killed after an air ambulance transporting a patient from Ranchi to New Delhi, crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday night. The flight, which was expected to reach the national capital by 10PM, crashed before it could reach Delhi.
In the statement issued by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it was stated that the aircraft lost contact with Kolkata at 7:34pm.
As per DGCA, Beechcraft C90 operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways with the tail number VT-AJV, lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi, and shortly after that, went down in the forest near Simaria in Jharkhand.
Quoting Ranchi airport sources, PTI reported that the medical flight took off and established contact with the next station, following which control was handed over.
‘After this contact was lost. The plane did not contact the Ranchi Airport,’ the official told PTI.
All seven on board – including the pilot, co-pilot, patient and medical staff, were declared dead shortly after the crash was reported at 10:20 PM.
“We got information around 10 that an accident has happened… Getting here was difficult considering the terrain… The Delhi team will come here for investigation and try to recover the black box… Total number of deaths is seven,” SP Sumit Kumar told news agency ANI.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a probe, and a team from the Aircraft Crash Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has also been to the site of the accident.
Third aviation crash since Air India
Monday’s plane crash is the latest safety crisis to hit India’s aviation sector. The previous one occurred last month when a Learjet 45 aircraft carrying Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others crashed in Pune’s Baramati, killing everyone on board.
This is also the third fatal civil aviation incident since June 2025, when an Air India Boeing Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport. Only one person – a 40-year-old British national survived the fatal crash.
The final report on the AI 171 crash, is yet to be released by authorities.
All seven persons on board an air ambulance were killed after the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday (February 23, 2026) evening while en route to Delhi from Ranchi, a top State government official said. The crash took place shortly after the aircraft operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 p.m.. “All seven on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The plane was on the way to Delhi from Ranchi,” Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G told PTI.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to visit Israel amid escalating tensions and a U.S. Military build-up across the West Asian region, members of Parliament’s Standing Committee on External Affairs on Monday (February 23, 2026) raised concerns over the timing of the trip. Mr. Modi is expected to arrive in Israel on February 25. This will be Mr. Modi’s first visit to Israel in nine years—his 2017 trip marked the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country—and comes after the 2023 terror attack in Israel, and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza for two years, in which more than 70,000 people were killed.
All seven individuals on board an air ambulance were killed after the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, and their bodies have been brought to a hospital for post-mortem examination, officials said on Tuesday (February 24, 2026).
The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday (February 23) evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest, killing all seven onboard, including two pilots.
The accident took place shortly after the aircraft operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 p.m. on February 23.
“All seven on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The plane was on the way to Delhi from Ranchi,” Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G told PTI.
“The aircraft went missing around 7.30 p.m.. It crashed at Bariatu Panchayat area in Simaria,” she said, adding that the site of the crash is located deep inside a forest.
SDPO Shubham Khandelwal told PTI that the bodies of all seven individuals on board have been retrieved. They have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi, and Dhuru Kumar.
According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crash.
Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, told PTI that the air ambulance was organized by one of their patients.
The patient, Sanjay Kumar (41), a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65 percent burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital,” he said, adding that the family members decided to take him to Delhi for better treatment.
“They organized an air ambulance on Monday. The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm,” he said.
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