By Abhijith Ganapavaram
BENGALURU, Sept 4 (Reuters) – An Air India A320 flying from Phuket to New Delhi last month issued a stall warning when seatbelt signs were off, while a rapid pitch up and then down threw passengers and cabin crew against overhead bins and injured 24 people, Indian investigators said.
The Airbus plane, cruising at 36,000 feet, initially ascended 372 feet then fell to 292 feet below it, according to a preliminary report into the August 4 accident released on Friday.
The two-second stall warning came after the flight control system detected the loss of all three of the aircraft’s hydraulic systems within four seconds, disengaging the autopilot and setting off a continuous cockpit alarm.
The hydraulic systems, which use pressurised fluid to power the flight controls and other equipment, began recovering about nine seconds after the first was lost, the report said.
The report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not say why the pressure loss was detected, which will require further investigation.
The event was updated to an “accident” from “serious incident” by investigators, and the report throws light on a chaotic few seconds on board the flight that had 137 passengers and eight crew.
The 32-year-old first officer was flying the plane at the time of the event, though the 34-year-old captain later took over the controls, it said. Both have been interviewed as part of the investigation.
AIR INDIA UNDER SCRUTINY
The report adds to scrutiny of Air India, which has been under intense regulatory and public pressure since the June 2025 crash of one of its Boeing 787s in Ahmedabad killed 260 people.
The airline also faces separate questions after the report said the flight’s captain returned a “non-negative” result in a confirmatory test for psychoactive substances.
The AAIB did not specify the substance for which the captain tested non-negative, but a source last month told Reuters it was marijuana.
Air India said it was cooperating fully with the probe and giving investigators access to operational, maintenance and technical records.
India’s second-largest airline is implementing a one-time mandatory substance testing for all pilots after the accident, expanding checks beyond regulatory requirements.
The AAIB recommended the aviation regulator take appropriate action on priority to prevent abuse of psychoactive substances, calling the finding a “serious concern.”
India is considering annual drug testing of all pilots after the accident, against the current requirement that 10% be tested each year.
The preliminary report did not make any recommendations to Airbus, which in a private report reviewed by Reuters told Air India the A320 aircraft registered losses in all three hydraulic systems in quick succession, briefly leaving key flight controls unresponsive.
For about four seconds, the pilots were unable to use the elevators and ailerons, which control the aircraft’s pitch and banking, Airbus’ analysis showed.
Air India is controlled by the Tata Group, while Singapore Airlines owns a roughly 25% stake.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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