Airbus joins probe into Air India flight plunge
An Air India Airbus A350 aeroplane is displayed at Wings India 2024 aviation at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad, India, on Jan 18, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Almaas Masood)
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NEW DELHI: Airbus is sending experts to New Delhi on Tuesday (Aug 11) to assist investigators probing an Air India flight that plunged dramatically, injuring 17 in a terrifying mid-air ordeal, the company said.
The probe into the flight comes as “confirmatory” psychoactive drug test results are awaited for the chief pilot.
The Airbus A320, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew, lost around 91m on Aug 4 while flying from Phuket in Thailand to New Delhi, before stabilising and landing safely.
Air India, in a statement after the plane landed, said it had “experienced a sudden loss of altitude”, adding that it was “fully cooperating with the investigation, and the aircraft manufacturer has also been notified”.
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India’s civil aviation ministry said that the “occurrence has been classified as a Serious Incident and is under investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)”.
An Airbus spokesperson said that the jet manufacturer was providing “technical assistance” to Indian investigating authorities.
Indian newspapers have widely reported that the flight experienced several technical snags just before it experienced a sudden loss in altitude – but neither the carrier, Indian authorities, or Airbus have provided official confirmation.
“A team of specialists is being dispatched to assist with the investigation,” an Airbus spokesperson said on Monday.
“Airbus is providing technical assistance to the relevant investigating authorities. We are actively supporting the airline and will provide further information as it becomes available,” they added.
Air India has said it “cannot comment on any findings or observations related to the investigation”.
Eight passengers and four cabin crew members were admitted to hospitals after landing in the Indian capital.
India’s aviation ministry said Sunday that after the flight landed, both pilots were given standard “psychoactive substance screening test”.
It said that the screening test of the pilot-in-command “indicated a result requiring confirmatory testing”, with samples sent for analysis. The final report is yet to be publicly released.
Both pilots have been taken off the flying roster during the investigations.
The probe into the Phuket-New Delhi flight is the latest in a series of challenges for Air India, which has struggled to execute a turnaround following multiple setbacks.
It has been hit hard by disruptions caused by war in the Middle East crisis.
The biggest blow to the airline’s image came in June 2025, when Air India Flight 171 – a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner – crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.
The Indian carrier last week appointed former Ethiopian Airlines chief Tewolde Gebremariam as its new chief executive.
Source: Reuters/ec
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