All seven people aboard an air ambulance lost their lives when the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday evening while traveling from Ranchi to Delhi.

Though the actual reason is a subject of investigation, inclement weather prevalent during the flight time is attributed as a cause responsible for the crash. 

The plane, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, went down shortly after departing from Ranchi airport at 7:11 pm on February 23, 2025.

Earlier, Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar revealed that the aircraft lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) roughly 20 minutes after takeoff, according to PTI.

Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G said, “All seven on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The plane was on the way to Delhi from Ranchi. The aircraft went missing around 7.30 pm. It crashed at the Bariatu Panchayat area in Simaria.” She further said that the crash site lies in a remote forested area.
 
Shubham Khandelwal, SDPO, stated that the bodies of all seven people on board have been recovered.

They were identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, mentioned that the air ambulance was arranged for one of the hospital’s patients. 

The patient, Sanjay Kumar, 41, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was admitted to the hospital on February 16 with 65% burn injuries and was undergoing treatment there. He shared that the family later decided to shift him to Delhi for advanced medical care.
 
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird runs a fleet of six aircraft, one of which was involved in the crash.

“On 23.02.2026, Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV, operating a medical evacuation (Air Ambulance) flight on the sector Ranchi-Delhi, crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district, in Jharkhand. There were seven people on board, including two crew members,” DGCA said in a statement.

The aviation watchdog stated that the aircraft "requested deviation due to weather" after establishing contact with Kolkata. At 7:34 pm, the air ambulance lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM southeast of Varanasi.

After losing contact with Kolkata, VT-AJV did not come in contact with either Varanasi air traffic control (ATC) or the Lucknow ATC.

A Varanasi radar replay was carried out, following which the last radar contact was recorded at 7:22 pm.

Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a reason behind the crash. However, the actual reason will be determined only after an investigation.