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Air India pilot who tested positive for marijuana slept 30-35 mins during flight
Air India pilot who tested positive for marijuana slept 30-35 minutes during Phuket-Delhi flight
Air India pilot who tested positive for marijuana slept 30-35 minutes during Phuket-Delhi flight
The pilot told investigators he had been struggling with his sleep for some time because of personal circumstances.
Updated on: Aug 13, 2026, 07:45:28 IST By HT Correspondent Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link The commander of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that lost altitude suddenly on August 4, injuring several passengers, told investigators he had been struggling with sleep and was on medication prescribed by his family doctor, two people familiar with his account to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said. They spoke on condition of anonymity and described more than an hour of questioning by investigators. Medical personnel with injured passengers in wheelchairs after the Air India flight (AI2379) from Phuket to Delhi experienced brief in-flight turbulence. (ANI Video Grab) The disclosure comes a day after it emerged the pilot’s preliminary post-flight drug test was recorded as “non-negative,” a screening result indicating a sample flagged for further analysis, and that his confirmatory test came back positive for cannabis. The pilot told investigators he had been unable to sleep during his layover in Phuket. He said he had experienced sleep difficulty for some time because of personal circumstances, one of the persons said. He did not name the medication or say how long he had been on it, the person said.Deep Dive
What were the medications the Air India pilot was prescribed for his sleep issues? Why is the Air India pilot's positive drug test significant for passenger safety? How does the DGCA handle pilots who test positive for drugs? Powered ByAsk HT DGCA rules require pilots on prescription medication to declare it to their airline. Non-disclosure can invite action from the operator. It was not clear if the pilot had done so.Pilot slept for 30-35 minutes
The pilot said he slept for 30 to 35 minutes during the flight, used the washroom and returned to stand behind the first officer, the two persons said. He was discussing the air conditioning system when the altitude event happened, and he was thrown to the cockpit floor, they said. Also read: ‘Pilot seemed high, eyes were red’: Passenger after pilot of turbulence-hit Air India plane tests positive for marijuana The first officer was flying the aircraft. The commander was the pilot monitoring, two people said. A cabin crew member on the observer seat, a role a departing pilot must assign when leaving the cockpit, helped him up, the persons said. It was the first detailed account from the cockpit crew of what happened aboard flight AI2379, an Airbus A320 registered as VT-EXO. The full sequence of events inside the cockpit could not be independently established from the pilots’ accounts to investigators. A copy of the aircraft’s post-flight Centralised Fault Display System log, seen by HT, recorded nine warning messages within one minute at 9.32am IST – a time when the flight had entered over the coast of Odisha from the Bay of Bengal.Warning signs during flight plunge
The messages included low pressure across the Green, Blue and Yellow hydraulic systems in different combinations, low reservoir levels on the Yellow and Blue systems, an autopilot disconnect and an elevator flight-control fault. Two door emergency-exit sensor messages followed at 9.33am and 9.35am. No further hydraulic or elevator messages were logged for the next 43 minutes. A separate engine anti-ice fault was recorded at 10.16am, and a second autopilot disconnect at 10.52am. The second disconnect was not accompanied by any hydraulic messages, unlike the first. The log doesn’t state a cause. Also read: Number of injured on Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that dropped 300 feet rises to 24 The pressure readings toggled across different system combinations within a minute rather than one system failing and staying failed. That pattern could allude to a transient event of the kind a sharp vertical excursion — or a sudden altitude loss, as reported by those onboard and the airline. — can produce through brief fluid movement in the hydraulic reservoirs, on a reading of the log by HT against standard A320 fault-code references. A sustained mechanical failure would have thrown up more messages including a number to indicate recurrency. Flightradar24 tracking data places the altitude event within the same minute as the fault cluster. The aircraft was cruising at 36,160 feet when an altitude anomaly was recorded at 9.33am IST. It dropped to about 35,800 feet, a loss of around 360 feet, according to Flightradar data. Air India did not issue a statement on the development till the time of going to press. Air India Dgca Pilot Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments. Home/India News/Air India Pilot Who Tested Positive For Marijuana Slept 30-35 Minutes During Phuket-Delhi Flight See LessThe commander of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that lost altitude suddenly on August 4, injuring several passengers, told investigators he had been struggling with sleep and was on medication prescribed by his family doctor, two people familiar with his account to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said. They spoke on condition of anonymity and described more than an hour of questioning by investigators.
The disclosure comes a day after it emerged the pilot’s preliminary post-flight drug test was recorded as “non-negative,” a screening result indicating a sample flagged for further analysis, and that his confirmatory test came back positive for cannabis.
The pilot told investigators he had been unable to sleep during his layover in Phuket. He said he had experienced sleep difficulty for some time because of personal circumstances, one of the persons said. He did not name the medication or say how long he had been on it, the person said.
DGCA rules require pilots on prescription medication to declare it to their airline. Non-disclosure can invite action from the operator. It was not clear if the pilot had done so.
Also read: ‘Pilot seemed high, eyes were red’: Passenger after pilot of turbulence-hit Air India plane tests positive for marijuana
The first officer was flying the aircraft. The commander was the pilot monitoring, two people said.
A cabin crew member on the observer seat, a role a departing pilot must assign when leaving the cockpit, helped him up, the persons said. It was the first detailed account from the cockpit crew of what happened aboard flight AI2379, an Airbus A320 registered as VT-EXO.
The full sequence of events inside the cockpit could not be independently established from the pilots’ accounts to investigators. A copy of the aircraft’s post-flight Centralised Fault Display System log, seen by HT, recorded nine warning messages within one minute at 9.32am IST – a time when the flight had entered over the coast of Odisha from the Bay of Bengal.
Also read: Number of injured on Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that dropped 300 feet rises to 24
The pressure readings toggled across different system combinations within a minute rather than one system failing and staying failed. That pattern could allude to a transient event of the kind a sharp vertical excursion — or a sudden altitude loss, as reported by those onboard and the airline. — can produce through brief fluid movement in the hydraulic reservoirs, on a reading of the log by HT against standard A320 fault-code references. A sustained mechanical failure would have thrown up more messages including a number to indicate recurrency.
Flightradar24 tracking data places the altitude event within the same minute as the fault cluster. The aircraft was cruising at 36,160 feet when an altitude anomaly was recorded at 9.33am IST. It dropped to about 35,800 feet, a loss of around 360 feet, according to Flightradar data.
Air India did not issue a statement on the development till the time of going to press.
Source: HindustanTimes
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