Air India Phuket-Delhi Flight Lost Key Controls

An Air India Airbus A320 operating a Phuket-Delhi flight suffered a rare and serious in-flight malfunction on August 4, briefly losing key flight controls for around four seconds, according to a preliminary assessment by Airbus. The aircraft, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members, suddenly lost approximately 300 feet of altitude. Airbus found indications that all three independent hydraulic systems lost control simultaneously, affecting the aircraft’s flight-control systems.

The incident is being investigated by Indian authorities with assistance from Airbus and France’s BEA. Airbus has sought further checks of the hydraulic systems, sensors, switches, wiring and other aircraft components to determine the root cause. Separately, the flight captain tested positive for marijuana in a confirmatory drug test. Both pilots were removed from duty pending the investigation, while Air India has expanded drug testing to cover all its pilots. No direct link between the captain’s test result and the technical failure has been established so far.