A medical evacuation flight took a frightening turn when an air ambulance developed a mechanical problem at 12,000 feet, causing its main door to partially open and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in another country.
The aircraft landed safely, but the 56-year-old woman being transported for medical treatment later died at a hospital, authorities confirmed.
The incident happened Sunday, October 18, when a Beechcraft King Air C90A air ambulance departed Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, India, for what was supposed to be a short flight to Kolkata.
The aircraft was carrying seven people, including two pilots, a doctor, a paramedic, two accompanying passengers and the patient, identified as Anjana Bhowmik.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the plane departed at approximately 1:05 p.m. Indian time. While climbing through 12,000 feet, it experienced a cabin pressurization malfunction that damaged its main door and caused it to partially open.
Faced with the potentially dangerous situation, the pilots declared an emergency and diverted to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Airport officials immediately prepared for the unexpected arrival, placing firefighters, ambulances, medical personnel and emergency response vehicles on standby.
The aircraft landed safely at approximately 1:40 p.m. Bangladesh time, with all seven occupants initially accounted for.
However, attention quickly turned to Bhowmik, who had been traveling to Kolkata for medical treatment.
She was rushed from the airport to Kurmitola Multicare Specialized Hospital in Dhaka, where doctors later pronounced her dead.
Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kamrul Hasan Talukder told The Daily Star that Bhowmik died at approximately 4:40 p.m.
Authorities have not disclosed her underlying medical condition or established whether the aircraft’s malfunction contributed to her death.
The incident also created an unusual diplomatic complication because the air ambulance had been operating what was intended to be a domestic flight between two Indian cities.
Since the passengers and crew had not planned to enter another country, they reportedly did not have the passports, visas or international travel clearances normally required to land in Bangladesh.
Despite those complications, Bangladeshi authorities granted emergency landing permission and provided medical assistance.
Officials from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry subsequently worked together to resolve the immigration and diplomatic requirements.
The aircraft, registered as VT-HYA and operated by India’s SKB Infracon Private Limited, remained at the Dhaka airport while authorities coordinated the necessary arrangements.
The Beechcraft King Air C90A is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft frequently used for business transportation and medical evacuation flights. Its relatively compact size allows operators to reach smaller airports while carrying medical personnel and specialized equipment.
Cabin pressurization systems help maintain breathable air pressure as aircraft climb to higher altitudes. A malfunction involving those systems or an aircraft door can create serious safety concerns, making an emergency descent or diversion necessary.
In this case, officials said the pilots successfully brought the damaged aircraft to the ground without further injuries to the other occupants.
Bangladesh’s aviation authorities have not publicly announced a final determination about what caused the mechanical failure.
The patient’s death and the aircraft emergency occurred during the same journey, but investigators have not established a direct connection between them.
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