Air India Aug 4 Flight: 4 Seriously Injured, 20 Minor Injuries, Accident Body Says
The Airbus A320, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew, suddenly lost altitude on August 4 while flying from Phuket, Thailand, to New Delhi, injuring 24 people, including four seriously. The aircraft later stabilised and landed safely.
Recommended For YouIndia's civil aviation ministry classified it as a "serious incident".
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Both Airbus and France's civil aviation safety agency, the BEA, said they are assisting the Indian investigation into the flight.
A preliminary report released Friday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the flight-control system detected the loss of three hydraulic systems for several seconds.
"The aircraft encountered altitude upset," it read. Initially, it gained 372 ft (113 metres) and fell by 292 ft (89 metres)," it added.
The hydraulic failure caused the autopilot to disengage and triggered a two-second stall warning before the systems recovered and the aircraft returned to normal operation.
"Subsequently, the aircraft operation returned to its normal operating condition," the report read.
But the report also addressed whether the pilot in command had tested positive for drugs.
"The PIC (pilot in command) was found non-negative for psychoactive substances in the confirmatory test," the report added.
"The confirmation of the use of psychoactive substances is a serious concern."
Following the incident, India's aviation ministry said the regulator was considering tighter screening rules for psychoactive substances.
Air India ordered a mandatory one-time drug screening of all of its pilots.
The investigation is the latest challenge for Air India, owned by India's Tata Group, which has struggled to turn around the carrier following a series of setbacks.
The biggest blow to the airline's image came in June 2025, when Air India Flight 171, a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.
ALSO READ- Air India Phuket-Delhi flight briefly lost key controls, Airbus analysis shows Air India expands drug testing to all pilots after captain tests positive for marijuana
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