Overview
- An Air India A320 on the Phuket–Delhi route suffered severe turbulence and a sudden drop of about 300 feet on August 4 before stabilising and landing safely in Delhi.
- Seventeen people, including 13 passengers and four cabin crew, were injured and taken for medical assessment following the disturbance on that flight.
- Both pilots underwent mandatory post-incident psychoactive-substance screening and the pilot-in-command’s initial result was reported as not negative with samples sent for confirmatory laboratory analysis.
- The occurrence has been classified as a Serious Incident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the probe, and the DGCA has taken both pilots off the flying roster pending results.
- Media outlets have reported a positive initial test citing unnamed sources but officials stress the confirmatory report and the AAIB investigation findings are awaited and will guide any disciplinary or regulatory action.