Air India and Air India Express will carry out psychoactive substance testing for all their pilots.
New Delhi: The probe agency, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), on Friday, September 4, said the confirmation of drug use by the pilot-in-command of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight is a “serious concern” and asked the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to take appropriate action.
Issuing the preliminary report of the August 4 incident, where the flight suddenly lost 300 feet of altitude and left many people injured, the AAIB said a detailed probe is underway.
AAIB said that in this case, it was observed that the pilot-in-command was found non-negative for psychoactive substances in the confirmatory test.
“In view of a non-negative result for psychoactive substances for one of the flight crew, it is recommended that DGCA may take appropriate actions as deemed fit to prevent abuse of psychoactive substances,” AAIB said in its interim safety recommendation.
The flight AI 2379 from Phuket to Delhi was operated with an Airbus A320-251N aircraft bearing registration VTEXO. As many as 145 people, including 2 pilots and 6 cabin crew, were on the plane.
According to the 10-page preliminary report, after the flight landed at the Delhi airport, 24 people were given medical assistance, and out of them, four had serious injuries.
AAIB said initially, it was notified that the aircraft encountered turbulence en route to Delhi. Based on the evidence collected and the assessment of injuries sustained by the persons onboard, the occurrence was classified as an accident.
The probe agency is scrutinising data and records collected from various stakeholders.
“The investigation team interacted with the flight crew and cabin crew (including the cabin supervisor) at Delhi Airport. Subsequently, both flight crew members were interviewed by the investigation team,” it said.
This post was last modified on September 4, 2026 5:15 pm