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Redbird Beechcraft C90 air‑ambulance (VT‑AJV) crashes in Jharkhand; seven killed, aircraft exempt from black‑box mandate

A Redbird Airways Beechcraft C90 air‑ambulance (registration VT‑AJV) crashed near Simaria, Jharkhand, late Monday, killing all seven aboard. AAIB and DGCA teams have recovered wreckage evidence; the C90 carried no FDR/CVR because its MTOW is below India’s 5,700 kg recorder mandate.

Discovered 2026-02-24T00:48:19.938227-08:00 | 2026-02-24T00:48:19.938227-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • Seven fatalities in a medevac charter (Beechcraft C90 VT‑AJV); AAIB and DGCA have recovered wreckage evidence but the aircraft had no FDR/CVR because its MTOW is under the 5,700 kg black‑box threshold.

  • The lack of flight and voice recorders will push investigators to rely on wreckage, radar/ATC data and witness accounts, likely lengthening the probe and constraining definitive causal conclusions.

  • The accident elevates scrutiny of charter/medevac operations and India’s investigative process, reinforcing trends seen in recent high‑profile probes and cooperation challenges (see ongoing Air India 787 probe, Indias investigator visit to the U.S. and the Learjet 45 crash).

Reported By

ANI News Agency Economic Times newsable.asianetnews.com AINonline Wings Aviation24
Sources Tracked
19
First Seen
2026-02-24T00:48:19.938227-08:00
Latest Update
2026-02-25T04:01:27.807483-08:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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