Air ambulance crash-lands in Delhi’s Najafgarh; all passengers safe

Picture Gallery | Air ambulance crash lands near Delhi, passengers rushed to hospital

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Surender Kumar said all passengers are safe and police have registered a case. At least 14 fire tenders and ambulances were rushed to the spot, he added.

Residents of Kair told The Indian Express that they heard a loud explosion and noticed an aircraft flying out of control. “We were sitting outside our house when I heard a loud noise and saw the plane descending rapidly. As it crash-landed in a field nearby, the tyres of the plane broke off. It skidded for at least 200 metres and then stopped,” said Devender Kumar, a school bus driver.

#SpotVisuals of Alchemist Airlines Air Ambulance that crashed in Delhi’s Najafgarh area pic.twitter.com/Al608NLzZC

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Dayanand, 75, said when they reached the plane, they found the occupants trying to open the cabin door. “We pulled the door open and rescued them one by one. One of the passengers was on a stretcher,” he said.

Airport officials said the air ambulance was forced to land after pilots said both engines of the aircraft failed. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated an inquiry into the incident.

The aircraft was ferrying 42-year-old patient Virender Rai, who had suffered a neurological stroke, to Medanta Medicity in Gurgaon from Patna.

Locals and Delhi Police rushed Rai, his daughter, Ruhi, son Bhagwan and a doctor, Rupesh, to Gurgaon. The crew — pilot Amit Kumar, co-pilot Rohit and technician Jung Bahadur — were taken to Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital.

Sources in the DGCA said the final investigation would be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. In a tweet hours after the incident, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, “I pray for early recovery of the injured. The causes of the accident shall be looked into.”

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said DGCA officials visited the site to conduct a probe. “We received an emergency call from the pilot… They made a safe landing. The DGCA is looking into the incident,” said Sharma.

A Medanta spokesperson said the hospital was alerted soon after the emergency landing. “Police brought the patient and the relatives to the hospital. None of them had sustained injuries. The patient is admitted in the ICU and is on ventilator support. He is being looked after by a team of neurologists and critical care specialists,” he said.

The air ambulance is owned and run by Chandigarh-based Alchemist Airways and was purchased in 1989. The
company is owned by TMC MP K D Singh.

Airport responds

At 2.29 pm Tuesday, the air ambulance had asked the Air Traffic Control (ATC) permission for emergency landing, citing engine failure, said sources in the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

“The ATC told the airport operator that the aircraft had lost contact 10 minutes after the first call. Emergency procedures were initiated and as per standard procedure, nearby hospitals were informed and emergency services called in,” said
the official.