Mumbai airport private jet accident: Co-pilot with spinal injury moved to another hospital, others stable

Neil Diwan, the co-pilot of a private jet that skidded off the runway at Mumbai airport, suffered a spinal injury and has been moved to another hospital for surgery, Dr Deepak Namjoshi, the director of Criticare Asia hospital said on Friday.

He said seven others admitted to Criticare Asia’s Andheri East hospital are stable and being monitored.

A private jet veered off the runway while landing at the Mumbai airport on Thursday amid heavy rains and all the eight people onboard have been hospitalised with injuries.

The Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL belonging to VSR Ventures, had flown from Visakhapatnam.

“Neil Diwan (in his early twenties) has a spinal fracture and paraplegia (a condition where both the legs have no sensation). He expressed the desire to get operated by a doctor known to him, so he was moved to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Thursday night,” Namjoshi said.

Sunil Kanjarbhat (46), the captain of the flight, sustained multiple abrasions with trauma to the chest wall and spine. There is also a “wedge compression to L1 vertebra”, he said.

Namjoshi said passenger Dhruv Kotak (40) sustained injuries to his right arm with a small abrasion on the head. His vitals are stable. A tear is suspected in his biceps muscle, Namjoshi said.

A Danish citizen onboard, Lars Henrik Ostergaard Sorensen (58), suffered injury to the chest wall and upper back. There is also a mild bilateral pleural haemorrhage and a few rib fractures; he has been advised conservative management and is currently stable, Namjoshi said.