Air ambulance makes emergency landing in Delhi, inquiry ordered (Roundup)

An air ambulance coming from Patna with seven people, including a brain haemorrhage patient, on board, had to make a forced landing in a field on Delhi's outskirts, after both of its engines failed. The aviation regulator has ordered a probe into the incident.

The air ambulance - a six-seater Beechcraft's King Air C-90A aircraft (VT-EQO) was only around nine kilometres away from Delhi airport, when the engine malfunction led it to instead landing near Najafgarh village in west Delhi at around 2.40 p.m.

An airport official said that pilots were in constant touch with the ATC (air traffic control) and had requested permission for an emergency landing.

"However, moments afterwards, the turboprop aircraft had to make a forced landing when it was only nine kilometres away from the runway number 10 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport," the official said.

One of the seven occupants, identified as Bhagwan Rai, 60, received injuries and was rushed to Rao Tula Ram Memorial hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable.

"Bhagwan had received minor abrasion on his head and some injuries on his thighs. He is stable and is being treated. He will be referred to Medanta hospital soon," Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital's chief medical officer Neha Martolia told IANS.

Martolia said that other people travelling in the aircraft are safe and have been taken to Medanta hospital in Gurgaon.

Apart from Bhagwan, Virender Rai (patient), pilot Amit, co-pilot Rohit, Rupesh (doctor), woman attendant Juhi and Jain Bahadur (technician) were travelling in the aircraft which was being operated by Alchemist Airways Pvt. Ltd.

Asked about the reason of technical fault in the aircraft, Patna Airport Director Rajinder Singh told reporters that a Director General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inquiry will reveal the reasons of engine failure.

According to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma, the aviation regulator had ordered a probe into the incident and a team from DGCA was sent to the spot to investigate.

The investigation into the incident has been taken over by the specialised arm of the ministry -- the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

"Now that the probe has been ordered, a team led by DGCA officials will carry out full investigations into the matter -- on how the incident actually occurred, what were the responses of the crew during the crisis," Kanu Gohain, former director general of the DGCA, told IANS.

"After the investigation process, the team will submit its finding and recommendations to the DGCA and only then any follow action will be initiated."

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, in a post on micro-blogging website Twitter, said: "I pray for the early recovery of the injured. The causes of the accident shall be looked into."

An air ambulance had crashed in a residential colony of Faridabad, adjoining Delhi, in May 2011 which claimed the lives of 10 people-- seven on board and three on ground. The accident had taken place due to inclement weather.

--IANS

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