Air India Captain Tests Positive for Drugs Following Incident That Injured 24

An Air India Airbus A320 operating a Phuket–New Delhi flight on August 4 experienced a serious technical issue while cruising at 36,000 feet. All three hydraulic systems recorded a loss of pressure within seconds, while the autopilot disengaged and a brief stall warning was triggered. The aircraft initially climbed approximately 113 metres before losing around 89 metres of altitude.

The incident occurred while the seat belt signs were off, resulting in injuries to 20 passengers and four cabin crew members.

Tests conducted after the incident found that the captain tested positive for a psychoactive substance, with the result also confirmed during follow-up testing. The report does not establish any link between this finding and the technical malfunction experienced by the aircraft.

Air India said it had terminated the captain’s employment and introduced substance testing covering all of its pilots following the incident.