DA Editorial Desk | Dhruba Deka
On Sunday, 18 October, an air ambulance carrying a 56-year-old woman from Agartala to Kolkata for treatment made an emergency landing in Dhaka after its main door partially opened mid-flight. According to reports citing PTI, a cabin pressurisation fault occurred while the aircraft was climbing through 12,000 feet, and the pilots diverted. The Beechcraft King Air, operated by SKB Infracon, landed safely at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal airport. The six other people on board, including two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic, were reported safe. The patient was taken to hospital in Dhaka, where doctors declared her dead.
We do not know what caused her death. The reports do not establish whether the malfunction contributed, and speculation would be unfair to her family and to the crew. But that uncertainty is precisely why a thorough, public inquiry is essential. A door that opens in flight on a medical mission is a serious failure, whatever the final cause of death.
Three questions need answers. First, what happened to the aircraft: how it was maintained, inspected and cleared for flight, and why the pressurisation fault occurred. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation should investigate and publish its findings. Second, what happened medically: the timeline of the patient’s care from takeoff to death, and whether the diversion changed her chances. Third, what rules govern air ambulance operators, including minimum equipment, crew training and oversight of small private operators.
Credit is due to the pilots for a safe landing, and to Bangladeshi authorities and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, who coordinated clearances. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh has confirmed a technical fault.
The episode also raises a wider question for Tripura. Why must critically ill patients be flown out of the state? Families travel to Kolkata and beyond for treatment that they would prefer to find nearer home. Air ambulances will remain necessary, but the state should invest in tertiary care in Agartala and publish a plan to reduce the number of patients who must travel. Until then, every emergency flight must be as safe as the person on board has a right to expect.