Air India mandates substance screening for pilots after Phuket-Delhi flight incident
Air India has begun mandatory screening of all group pilots for unauthorised substances and medications as regulatory scrutiny intensifies following a serious Phuket-Delhi flight incident, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing ANI.
The airline introduced the screening on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to submit its preliminary report on the incident to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) before the second week of September.
The investigation concerns Air India flight AI2379, which was operating from Phuket to Delhi on August 4 when it experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop over Odisha. The incident left 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured.
The Airbus A320, registered as VT-EXO, subsequently stabilised and landed safely in Delhi. It was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members.
A purported post-flight maintenance report cited by ANI listed several technical warnings involving the aircraft’s hydraulic systems, flight controls and autopilot. These included repeated low-pressure alerts in the green, blue and yellow hydraulic systems, low fluid levels in the yellow and blue reservoirs, and two autopilot disconnections.
The report also recorded flight-control faults involving the left and right elevators, as well as anti-ice-related messages involving the right forward and aft emergency exit doors. Other warnings concerned the hydraulic system, an elevator computer and a high-pressure indication linked to the nose landing gear door/engine anti-ice valve system.
Air India initially described the incident as turbulence-related. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the AAIB are investigating the occurrence, which has been classified as a serious incident.
The purported maintenance report does not establish whether the logged warnings were directly linked to the altitude loss or whether an actual loss of hydraulic pressure or fluid occurred. Investigators are examining the sequence of events, system data and crew actions.
Air India said passenger and crew safety remains its highest priority and that it is cooperating with authorities. The Civil Aviation Ministry is also closely monitoring the situation. Further findings from the AAIB investigation are awaited.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Air India declined to comment on any findings or observations related to an investigation into a Phuket-Delhi flight incident, as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) continues its probe under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13.