No Black Box On Crashed Jharkhand Air Ambulance: How a DGCA Rule Loophole Created Safety Blind Spot

The absence of a black box complicates the investigation, forcing reliance on alternative data sources. The crash has renewed calls for mandatory black boxes on chartered and air ambulance aircraft.

A private air ambulance travelling from Ranchi to Delhi that crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on February 23 was not equipped with a black box, officials have confirmed.

According to aircraft records and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), installation of a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) was not mandatory for older private aircraft in this category at the time of certification.

Under DGCA’s CAR norms, the requirement to install black boxes on small general aviation aircraft depends on factors such as the aircraft’s weight and the date on which its first airworthiness certificate was issued.

The aircraft involved in the crash was manufactured in 1987 and received its airworthiness certification during that period. As per the regulations in force at the time, fitting a CVR and FDR was not compulsory.

However, the absence of a black box has made the investigation more challenging. Typically, black boxes provide crucial information, including the pilots’ final cockpit conversations and key technical flight data.

In the absence of CVR and FDR data, probe agencies are now relying on radar inputs, weather reports, examination of the wreckage, and maintenance records to determine the cause of the crash.

The incident has once again sparked debate over whether black boxes should be made mandatory for chartered and air ambulance aircraft. Sources indicate that the DGCA may review this aspect and consider possible amendments to the CAR regulations in the future.