Ranchi, Feb. 24 -- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has confirmed that the ill-fated air ambulance that crashed in Jharkhand's Chatra district Monday night had "requested deviation due to weather" after establishing contact with Kolkata.

The Beechcraft C90 aircraft, bearing registration VT-AJV and operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, departed from Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport at 7:11 pm.

At 7:34 pm, the air ambulance lost both communication and radar contact with Kolkata, approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi.

After losing contact with Kolkata, VT-AJV failed to establish communication with either Varanasi Air Traffic Control (ATC) or Lucknow ATC.

Following a radar replay in Varanasi, official...