Air India has terminated the Pilot-in-Command of its Phuket-Delhi flight AI2379 with immediate effect after a post-flight test and subsequent confirmatory blood test returned non-negative for a psychoactive substance.
The action came after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report into an August 4 incident in which the Airbus A320 briefly lost pressure across all three hydraulic systems while cruising at 36,000 feet, causing the autopilot to disengage, triggering a short stall warning and resulting in a significant altitude upset.
The aircraft climbed about 372 feet above its assigned level before dropping around 292 feet below it. Twenty passengers and four cabin crew members were injured, with four people hospitalised for serious injuries.
While the AAIB called the confirmed psychoactive-substance finding a “serious concern” and recommended priority action by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it has not established any link between the pilot’s test result and the altitude upset.
Air India said the termination reflects its zero-tolerance approach to breaches involving safety, fitness and regulatory requirements, while the AAIB’s detailed investigation into the technical and other aspects of the incident continues.
Pilot Removed After Test Result
Air India announced the termination on September 4, shortly after the AAIB preliminary findings became public. An airline spokesperson said the Pilot-in-Command of the Phuket-Delhi flight had tested positive for a psychoactive substance and that, in keeping with the airline’s “zero-tolerance approach” towards violations of safety, fitness or regulatory requirements, his employment had been terminated with immediate effect.
The AAIB’s findings provide more detail about the testing process. After AI2379 landed in Delhi, both pilots underwent post-flight medical checks. Their breathalyser tests were satisfactory. However, the Pilot-in-Command’s sample returned a non-negative result during psychoactive-substance screening. A blood sample was then sent to a pathological laboratory for confirmatory testing, which also returned a non-negative result. The co-pilot tested negative.
The AAIB described confirmation of psychoactive-substance use as a “serious concern” and recommended that the DGCA take appropriate action on priority to prevent the abuse of such substances. Importantly, the regulator’s preliminary report does not identify the substance by name. While some media reports, citing sources, have identified it, that information has not been specified in the AAIB’s official findings.
The report also makes clear that the toxicology finding should not automatically be interpreted as an explanation for what happened in the air. Investigators have not concluded that the substance caused or contributed to the aircraft’s altitude upset.
Four Seconds Of Chaos
AI2379 was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, along with six cabin crew members and two pilots when the incident occurred. The Airbus A320-251N, registered VT-EXO, had departed Phuket at 01:41 UTC and was initially operating normally towards Delhi.
At around 04:02:43 UTC, however, the aircraft detected a loss of pressure in its green hydraulic system. Four seconds later, pressure-loss indications appeared in the blue and yellow hydraulic systems as well. At 04:02:48 UTC, the autopilot disengaged, followed shortly by a stall warning that lasted around two seconds.
The co-pilot was the Pilot Flying at the time, while the Pilot-in-Command was the Pilot Monitoring. The co-pilot initially responded to the abnormal situation before the Pilot-in-Command took control. The hydraulic systems then began recovering within seconds, with the blue system recovering first, followed by the yellow and green systems.
During the altitude upset, the aircraft rose approximately 372 feet above its assigned Flight Level 360 before descending about 292 feet below it. With the seat-belt signs switched off, the sudden movement caused passengers and cabin crew to be thrown around the cabin.
The consequences were visible inside the aircraft. The AAIB documented cracked and deformed ceiling panels, displaced passenger-service-unit panels, broken handrails and dislodged overhead-bin doors.
Investigation Turns To Safety
After the aircraft stabilised, the crew decided to continue towards Delhi rather than divert to an en-route airport. The aircraft later requested medical priority from Delhi Air Traffic Control and landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 05:30 UTC.
Twenty passengers and four cabin crew members received medical attention after landing. Twenty people were treated for minor injuries and discharged, while four people with serious injuries were hospitalised.
The technical cause of the incident remains under investigation. The AAIB has secured and downloaded data from the aircraft’s flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders and is examining maintenance and operational records, hydraulic components and samples, as well as other evidence. Technical experts from Airbus, working through France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), also inspected the aircraft and assisted investigators.
The incident has also prompted wider scrutiny of pilot substance testing. Air India had earlier ordered mandatory psychoactive-substance screening for pilots across Air India and Air India Express, going beyond the minimum regulatory requirements. The episode has subsequently contributed to discussions around whether pilot testing requirements should be strengthened further.
For now, investigators are examining two separate but important questions: what caused the rapid pressure-loss indications across all three hydraulic systems, and whether existing safeguards are sufficient to identify potential substance-related fitness concerns before a pilot operates a flight.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Air safety depends on multiple layers of responsibility from pilots and airlines to regulators, manufacturers and medical systems. Air India’s immediate action following a confirmed non-negative test sends a clear message that fitness for duty cannot be compromised, particularly in an industry where one person’s condition can affect hundreds of lives.
At the same time, responsible reporting requires us not to connect two events simply because they occurred on the same flight. The AAIB has not said that the Pilot-in-Command’s psychoactive-substance finding caused the altitude upset, and that distinction matters until the investigation is complete.
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