Amritsar, March 1, 2026(Yes Punjab News)
Following the tragic crash of a Redbird Airways air ambulance in the dense forests of Jharkhand, which resulted in the loss of seven lives, a major controversy has erupted regarding aviation safety standards in the country.
Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of Parliament from Amritsar, has expressed profound grief and outrage, writing a detailed letter to the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, questioning the ministry’s regulatory oversight. Aujla categorized this entire incident not merely as an accident, but as a direct consequence of “preventable oversight” and gross negligence by aviation regulatory bodies.
In his letter, MP Aujla revealed that the ‘Beechcraft C90’ aircraft involved in the crash was nearly 39 years old and had logged over 6,600 flight hours. He expressed shock at how such antiquated and technically outdated machinery was permitted to operate as a lifesaving ambulance service.
He also highlighted that the aircraft was not equipped with a ‘Black Box’ (Flight Data Recorder) or a ‘Cockpit Voice Recorder’, which are essential for investigating the causes of any accident. Due to outdated DGCA regulations, this aircraft was granted an exemption to fly without these critical instruments, making it nearly impossible now to reach the root cause of this tragedy.
Speaking on the horror of the accident, the MP noted that the family of the patient, Sanjay Kumar—who was being ferried from Ranchi to Delhi—had exhausted their life savings and borrowed lakhs of rupees in the desperate hope of saving a life.
However, systemic neglect wiped out seven lives in an instant, including the entire family, a devoted doctor, and two pilots. He raised pointed questions to the Minister, asking if India’s aviation safety architecture is designed to allow “cheap and old” scrap aircraft to operate at the cost of human lives. Aujla has demanded that the Ministry conduct a comprehensive audit of the country’s entire air ambulance fleet within the next 30 days and present an enforceable action plan by immediately amending safety standards.
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