A formal investigation is underway by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) following a mid-air emergency on an Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi on August 4. The aircraft experienced a sudden 300-foot drop during its cruise phase, causing injuries to several passengers and crew members before the flight eventually stabilized and landed safely in the Indian capital.
The incident has drawn significant scrutiny after passengers raised serious concerns regarding the condition of the pilot. According to passenger Shrikant Jha, those on board observed the pilot’s behavior and appearance after the turbulence and suspected he was not fit to operate the aircraft. He called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
“We actually had strong suspicions about this because of the pilot’s demeanour and appearance. His gait didn’t look right, and the way he spoke after the turbulence made it seem like he was intoxicated,” Jha told ANI.
Jha stated that passengers formally complained to Ravishankar Gaur, the head of Terminal 3, upon arrival. “However, we lodged a strong complaint with Ravishankar Gaur, the head of Terminal 3, urging the authorities to conduct dope and blood tests, which revealed the truth. The DGCA, the Airports Authority, and the airlines need to take responsibility for this,” he added.
Another passenger, Renu Raniwala, described the sudden drop in altitude and the panic it caused among those on board. She noted that passengers had observed the pilot struggling to walk straight even before the turbulence occurred. Raniwala reported that she was injured while securing her three-year-old grandson, and she alleged that another young child was thrown toward the rear of the cabin during the violent shaking.
Raniwala further alleged that passengers did not receive adequate assistance after landing, claiming that some individuals were left waiting for two to three hours before receiving necessary medical attention. These claims have added to the growing pressure on aviation authorities to provide transparency regarding the flight’s handling.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has officially classified the occurrence as a Serious Incident. In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry confirmed that both flight crew members underwent the prescribed psychoactive substance screening test following the landing.
The initial screening of the Pilot-in-Command indicated a result that requires further confirmatory testing. Consequently, samples have been dispatched to a designated laboratory, and officials are currently awaiting the final report to determine if the pilot was indeed under the influence of any substances.
The aircraft was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, alongside eight crew members consisting of two pilots and six cabin crew. While the aircraft eventually stabilized and landed safely, the event remains a subject of intense scrutiny as investigators work to reconcile passenger accounts with the technical data from the flight.
The allegation of intoxication has not been established.
“The person sitting ahead of us had already said that the pilot wasn’t even walking straight.
Air India Phuket-Delhi flight drops 300 ft, 12 injured
When the flight started dropping, I was most worried about the children,” she told ANI.
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Source: Gulf News
