Air ambulance crashes into Faridabad colony,10 killed

At least three buildings were damaged and the entire area plunged into darkness after power failed. Rescue teams were trying to get past large crowds at the scene of the crash.

The single-engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12/45 aircraft,which left Patna at 8.30 pm,went down in Parvatiya Colony in Faridabad at 10.46 pm — that was the time it disappeared off the radar,14 nautical miles ahead of Delhi airport which had put it on the approach path of runway 2-9.

Sources said the plane had been losing height and when it was 11,000 feet above the ground,express instructions were sent from Air Traffic Control in Delhi,asking the aircraft to stop descent. The plane,however,continued to lose height.

The aircraft was ferrying a critically ill patient Rahul Raj,an 18-year-old businessman from Bettiah in Bihar,from Patna to the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi. Raj,who had slipped into coma,was undergoing treatment in Patna’s Jagdish Memorial hospital,according to its Medical Superintendent Harish Chandra Malik.

“Rahul Raj was admitted in our hospital for two days with acute liver disease. The family summoned the ambulance from Apollo,Delhi. We gave critical care till the airport and transferred the patient to the plane. There were two doctors,one nurse and the patient’s cousin,” Malik said.

The aircraft,manufactured in 2005 by Swiss company Pilatus,was owned and operated by Delhi-based Air Charter Services Pvt Limited. The plane had place for two crew members and nine passengers. It was used for a variety of chartered services including as an air ambulance.

The aircraft was being flown by Captain Harpreet Kaur and co-pilot Manjeet Kotani. Others on board were said to be Rahul Raj,the patient,doctors Arshad and Rajesh,attendants Rajnish and Cyril.

Officials said that the Meteorological department sent out an advisory at 8.30 pm,warning airlines,pilots and ATC of approaching squall winds over Delhi. Air Traffic Control officials suspect the Pilatus got caught up in the gust before losing altitude.

Faridabad resident Gajay Singh said: “I was trying to sleep when suddenly there was a strong gust and a big sound. A heavy object fell on the opposite house and there was fire all around.”

“The Fire Brigade and police reached the spot much later. There was no way the fire tenders could reach inside,we doused the flames on our own,” Bhupinder Singh said. Parvatiya Colony is barely 200 metres away from the Air Force Base.