Air ambulance crash-lands in Najafgarh

The incident takes place a month after DGCA lays down new norms for air ambulances

An air ambulance carrying five passengers and two pilots crash landed in a field in Najafgarh, five nautical miles away from Delhi airport, on Tuesday because of suspected engine failure.

None of the passengers was reported to have been seriously hurt and the KingAir C90 aircraft was intact. The aircraft, which belongs to Alchemist Airways, was ferrying five passengers, including a heart patient from Patna, and was on its final approach to the Delhi airport when it is believed to have suffered engine failure.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is probing the incident.

The incident comes barely a month after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation framed rules for operations of air ambulance services, laying down procedures for transport of patient, requirements and standards of onboard medical equipment amongst others. While non-scheduled and charter operators have been operating air ambulances, there was no prescribed regulation about it.

The rules were framed following an air ambulance crash in Faridabad in the outskirts of Delhi, which killed 10 persons, including seven on board.